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THE 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT, 



IN YORKSHIRE 



BY GEOUGE FOX5 



SOLD BY JOHN FOX, P9NTEFRACT 5 

ALSO, BY LONGMAN, REES, ORME AND BROWN — G. B. VVHITAKEE- 

BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY, LONDON ; JOHN BAINES— 

ROBINSON & riERNAMAN, LEEDS ; WOLSTENHOLME-— 

WILSON & SONS, YORK ; SHEARDOWN & 

SONS, DONCASTER ; R. NICHOLLS, 

WAKEFIELD. 

1827, 






J. Fox, Printer^ Ponttfract. 



'Xfi 






/ 



/ 



As mankind was primarily created by the Supreme 
Being, for the reciprocal comfort and benefit of 
one another, an incumbent duty is imposed upon 
every member of society, to contribute, as much as 
lays in his power, towards the general good. In 
the beginning of the Cataline War, Sallust not only 
shews the difference existing between rational and 
irrational creatures, but thus elegantly writes : — 
' Omnis homines, qui sese student prsestare CcEteris 
animalibus, summa ope niti decet, ne vitam silentio 
transeant, veluti pecora, quae natura prona atque 
ventri obedientia finxit/ And the inimitable bard 
of Avon, thus deciphers man : — 

* What is man. 
If his chief good, and market of his time. 
Be hut to sleep and feed? a beast, no more. 
Sure, he, that made us with such large discourse 
Looking before, and after, gave us not 
That capability and godlike reason 
To rust in us unused.' 

Should, therefore, the following pages, which are 
submitted to the public, without much comment or 
introduction, escape the keen eye of criticism, and 
meet with the approbation of the gentle reader, 
the most sanguine expectations of the compiler are 
realized. Whatever he hath been able to glean, 
from the field of antiquarian lore, relative to the 
town and castle of Pontefract, he hath sedulously 
endeavoured to compress in such a form, without 



3f 



mutilation, as he trusts will be interesting to the 
general reader. 

In the brilliant page of history, Pontefract 
holds a distinguished place. Its magnificent for- 
tress, has been the strong fortification of Saxon 
thanes — the embattled residence of feudal chieftains 
— and the turretted palace of illustrious princes. 
At some periods destined to be the scene of treachery 
and rebellion, and rendered ^ infamous for the murder 
and slaughter of princes f whilst at other times, it has 
become celebrated in the glow of history, for en- 
nobling deeds, and for loyal and undaunted cour- 
age, manifested in defence of the cause of royalty. 

The noble lords of Pontefract, attended by 
their numerous retinues, lived in the greatest 
degree of splendour and magnificence, vieing with 
the estate of monarchs. Enjoying the absolute 
property of the whole Honor of Pontefract, an 
extent of territory, equal to many of our modern 
counties j they became generals in the field of war, 
and judges in times of peace. All within the honor 
held their possessions of them, subject to such condi- 
tions, as they only willed to grant ; whilst at the 
same time, they owed to them suit and service, 
and did them homage as their feudal lords.' 

When this fortress, styled the Honor of Ponte- 
fract, descended from the illustrious line of the 
Lascy ancestry, into the house of Lancaster; im- 
pelled by ambitious views, or stimulated to deeds 
of arms^ by the more generous call of an oppressed 
country, the dukes often-times summoned forth their 
steel-clad warriors, and hurled the gauntlet of 



defiance to opposing powers. In times of tur- 
bulence and commotion, when civil broils were 
frequent 3 and when the vassals of the crown often 
forfeited their possessions, for treason against their 
sovereign, or their feudal lord ; the towers of Pon- 
tefract, torn by the thundering engines of terrific 
war, loudly rang with wild alarms ; and, before its 
massive walls the thirsty falchion hath too often 
drank the blood of noble chieftains. 



CONTENTS, 



PART THE FIRST. 

1, — General description of the town 

Fairs— Population— The New Road— Men 

of genius First Possessor Various 

opinions of its names, 1 

II. — Of the borough, and its privileges, 
&c. — Charters of Ilbert de Lascy, Roger 
de Lascy, and Henry de Lascy — Incor- 
poration of the borough — Charters of 
Richard III. Henry VII. Edward VI. 
and James I II 

III. — Charters of Charles II. and James 
II.— Tolls of the Mayor — Mayors and 
Representatives — EarlofPomfret— Baron 
ofPomfret, 40 

IV. — Seneschalls and Constables — Baili- 
wick — Rents of Assyse — Streets — Wa- 
pontake of Osgoldcross — Proclamation 
of James I. respecting royal mills — Ro- 
man Roads, 64 

PART THE SECOND. 

1. — Of the Castle Lascies Historical 

events from the reign of William the 
Conqueror to that of Edward II. . . 84 

11.— Of Thomas earl of Lancaster, 

the civil broils during his time — and 
his fate, 104 

III.— Events from the death of Edward II. 
to the murder of Richard II. and a con- 
tinuation of historical recollections to 
the reign of Charles 1 141 

IV.— Of the Nobility and Gentry who form- 
ed the garrison of Pontefract against 
the Commonwealth, lt>4 

V.VI. VII.— The three sieges of the for- 
tress and its final demolition, 174, 186, 
227. 



PART THE THIRD. 

Church of All Saints, 267 

St. Mary, 278 

St. Clement, 287 

St. Thomas Plantagenet, . . 289 

Hermitage and Ancient Gnot, .. .. 291 

College of Carmelites, 292 

Austin Friars, 293 

Bead House, 295 

Lazar House, 296 

Cowper's or Butts' Hospital, .. .. 297 

Dominican Priory, 298 

Grey Friars, 300 

Priory of St. John the Evangelist, iJOI 

College and Hospital of St. Nicholas, 313 
Aims-House and College of Sir Robert 

Knolles, 317 

Perfect's Hospital, 327 

Frank's Hospital, 327 

Thwaites' Hospital, 330 

King's Free Grammar School, .. .. 331 

Fothergill's Donation, 339 

Watkinson's Hospital, 344 

The charity of George Talbot, earl of 

Shrewsbury, 348 

Mr. Thomas Sayle's Dole, 349 

Bequest of the Corporation, .. .. 350 

John Acaster, 350 

Donation of Ann Hirst 350 

Bequests of Leonard Healeagh, John 
Eastwood, Robert Moore, Wil- 
liam Oates, andRichardThomp- 

son, 351 

Religious Sects, 352 

The New Hall, .. 353 

The Market Cross, 355 

The Stump Cross, 356 

The Town Hall, 357 

The Court House, , . 357 

Tlie Thegttre, 357 

The Monument, 357 

The Park .358 

The Charity School, 363 

ADDENDA. 

Sale of Materials of the Castle, .... i 
Ancient Extract, ki 



Part the first. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



SECTION I. 

The town of Pontefract, so famed in the records of English history> 
stands on a noble rocky eminence, approached to on every side by a 
considerable ascent ; and affords a prospect to the tr^iygHer, at once 
pleasing and picturesque. From the summit of its site may be dis- 
tinctly seen, the stately turrets of York cathedral; the towns of 
Malton, Selby, and Howden ; Brayton-bargh,* andHambleton-haugh ;t 
the Wolds ; and the towering hills of Derbyshire, stretching along the 
horizon in grand succession. The intermediate parts of the landscape, 
are a combination of all that is rich and beautiful. Sparkling hamleta 
and straggling cottages, which bespeak cleanlmess and comfort, 
abound on every side ^ whilst seats of opulent nobles, adorned with 
open lawns, rise amid embrowned groves, and add fresh beauties tor 
tJie scenery.- The disfigured fortress, rising majestically on its rugged' 
seat, arrests the traveller's attention ; whilst the imagination luxuriates 
into a thousand elevated contemplations, and the mind recognizes the 
progressive stride of time. The landscape is intersected 'by small 
streams, which hold their courses to the river Aire, (distant from 
Pontefract about two miles,) whose sinuous bosom-, marked by nume- 
rous white sails, grants a pleasing addition to the v/hole. The eye 
wanders over the beautifully diversified views with unabated pleasure^ 
and rests in ealm repose upon its superlative beauty. * Let a survey- 
or,' says the ingenious Mr. Thos. Fuller, * S€t his centre at Pontefract, 
or thereabouts, and take the circumference of 20 miles, he there will 
meet with a tract of ground not exceeded by any, nor equalled for the 
goodness and plenty of some commodities ; nay, he would term it the 
garden of England, but that it is so far from the mansion-house, the city 

* Barffh, is sometimesiised in England for a hill; and is derived from- the German 
word bargfi, a hill, 

t Haugh, hay, hat/a or haye, signifies a fence or enclosure formed of rails, wherewitii 
»&5ae forests, pariis, &c. were anciently surroimded. 



2t HISTOKY OF POl^TEFRACT. 

of London. And those, says he, who care not to go thither becanse of 
Its great distance, would not desire, (were they hut settled there,) to 
come from thence, such is the delight and pleasure therein.'* 

In -the description of Pontefract, the incomparable antiquarian, 
Leland, thus writes j — ' Pontfract is a fayre large market towne, and 
good occupying in hit. Ther is averie faire castel set on a rokke of 
stone ; an abbay of blake monks, a paroche chirche, a eolledge of 
prestes, a place of grey freres, a faire chapell. Without the towne on 
the hil, where the good duke f of Lancaster was behidded, ys a faire 
chirche. J From Pontfract to St .Oswauls, § averie faire and wel 
builded howse of chanons, iii mile be much woddy grownde. At St» 
'Oswauls is a mervelus faire conduct of water, and castelid hard againe 
the front of the howse. The soile therabout riche of woode, pasture 
and corne.' 

Camden also thus notices it in his Britannia : — * Agro sedet per- 
amaeno, glycyrrhizae et siseris feraci, eedificiis excultum nitidis, cas- 
trumque ostendit non minus speciosum quam tutum/ 

Its streets, which run in the form of the letter Y, are broad and 
clean, its structures elegant, uniform and neat, and having no 
manufactory within its limits, the air is remarkably pure and 
salubrious. It is possessed of many good shops j a cheerful 
neatness seems generally to prevail; and for the politeness and 
affability of its inhabitants, it may vie with many in the north. The 
soil around it is deep and finiitful, and is famed for the production 
of the finest liquorice, not inferior to the Spanish, \\ and Skirets,^ in 
the greatest abundance. About a mile from the town, northwards, is 
an extreme cold bathing well, called St. Ives. The gardens which 
surround the town on everj'^ side are beautiful ; and, * how should they 
be otherwise when Priapus and Flora reign here in conjunction,' 

* Collier's Historical Diet. ii. vide Yorkshire. 

t Mr. Burton in his transcript hath written earl in the margin. Mr. Stowe did the 
same, but altered it to duke. 
t Leland It. 91. 

§ Although St Botolph was the name formerly given to the Chapel at Knotting- 
ley ; yet, the distance from Pontefract, the woody place near the town called the war- 
ren, which was half a mile long and four quarantens broad, Dom. B©c. pp. 134, the 
new-hall divided into many partitions or dwellings, and supposed to be store-houses for 
the garrison of Pontefract, ai^.d the town-well, indicate this to be the village of Knot- 
tingley. Mag. Brit.. 

11 Liquorice, (glycyrrUza vulgaris,) although not a native of this country, is 
here planted in large gardens, and flourishes greatly. It is only fit for use at its third 
year's growth, and from its roots ai e manufactured the celebrated Pontefract Cakes> 
vf this plant, thus writes Barnaby Harrington in his itinerary : 
Latins in rvipem laser est sita dulcis arentem, 
Veste nova veris floribus aiicta novis. 
Here liquorice grows upen the mellow banks 
Decking the spring with her delicious plants. 
Veni Pomfret, xiberem venam, 
Vergis lasepertiis plenam. 
The^ice to Pomfret, freshly floweredf 
And with rods of liquorice stored^ 
f Camden's Brit, vi, 238, 



HISTORY OF PONT EFR ACT. d 

" if situation hath a power to please, 
Jf air salubrious can give us ease. 
If spacious streets ap.d handsome houses joini'd. 
Can satisfaction raise within the mind ; 
If noble ruins mouldering fast with rust. 
Where ancient monarchs mingle with the dustj 
If gardens all around can please the eyes, 
Embellished o'er with Flora's painted dyes ; 
If peace and plenty, which doth here abide, 
(Laying all pique and prejudice aside;) 
If charms as these are worthy of my song, 
Come here, ye grave, ye gay, ye old, and young, 
Come here, and view the subject of my theme, 
Confess that Pomfret 's worthy your esteem.' LuND. 

The market, which is held on the Saturday, is plentifully supplied 
with every commodity. 

In the fourth year of the reign of James I. an order was passed, 
dated the sixth of October, for the better regulation of the sale of goods 
in shops, as appears by the following : 

11.11a de^ A sessions of peace at the visitation of frank-pledge, and in 
Pontif. 3 the court leet of our lord James by the grace of God, of 
Scotland, France, and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c. at the ' 
aforesaid town, on the sixth day of October, in the fourth year of the 
reign of our said king James of England, France, and Ireland, and the 
fortieth year of his reign over Scotland, at the same time ; was tried at 
our court and among other thir»gs enacted as foUoweth : 

FOR the necessary maintaining and upholding of the estate of 
this corporation, and the better to enable the poor townsmen and other 
inhabitants thereof, that they be not oppressed by foreigners, who not 
being burgesses or freemen of this town, do by taking of shops and 
other rooms here, without license of Mr. Mayor and his brethren, 
engross almost the whole trade of the town into their hands, although 
they neither inhabit in the town, nor pay any scott or lott there. 
WHEREFORE it is Ordered and enacted, by the mayor, combur- 
gesses, and burgesses of the town, by the assent of Mr. Recorder, that 
no foreigner not being a freeman, inhabiting and keeping house and 
family here, shall at any time hereafter, buy or sell directly or indi- 
rectly in any shop in this town, without the license of the mayor and 
burgesses under their corporation seal ; unless it be upon the fair or 
market day, and that not to be granted, but such as be freemen of the 
town, and this upon pain of every day's offence, 10s. and also, that 
such foreigners as have or shall take any shops or other rooms here 
for the selling of corn, shall contribute towards the relief of the poor, 
and other duties of the town, according to such reasonable rates, and 



^ HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

portions, as shall be assessed by the mayor and aldermen for the time 
feeing, upon pain to lose for every defect, 5s. and to have their shops 
restraint, and chambers shut, till they pay the same. In testimony 
whereof, the common seal of the said corporation -of Pontefract, is 
hereunto set and affixed the day and year above written. 

After the passing of this order, the grain was openly exposed for 
sale, and continued so until the year 1740, * to the great prejudice, 
damage, and impoverishment of the poor in this town and parts adja- 
cent,' when at a general meeting held in the mote-hall, on the 26th of 
May in that year, it was ordered ' that no grain shall hereafter be 
opened and exposed for sale in the market, until after ten o'clock in the 
forenoon, at which time the market bell will be rung, on pain of being 
prosecuted.'* 

Its fairs f are, St. Andrew's held on the first Saturday in Decem- 
ber ; twenty days' fair the first Saturday after the twentieth day from 
Christmas ; Candlemas on the first Saturday after the 13th. of February; 
and St. Giles's on the first Saturday after the 12th of September ; April 
8th. and May 4th. for cattle, sheep, &•€. ; with the moveable fairs, 
Palm-Sunday, Low Sunday, May 4th, and Trinity-Sunday, which are 
held on the Saturday preceding each of these days respectively. The 
fortnight fairs are held on the Saturday next after York fortnight fairs. 
The show for horses, formerly called Palm-Sunday show, now begins 
en the 5 th. of February. 

Its situation is in the parish of Pontefract, in the wapontake of 
Osgoldcross, and in the liberty and honor of Pontefract ; and is distant 
from Aberford, eleven miles ; from Wakefield, nine ; from Leeds, 
thirteen ; from Doncaster, fourteen ; from Rotherham, twenty ; and 
from Ferrybridge, two and a half miles, and sixty yards ;t and is twenty- 
four miles s.w. of York, and one hundred and seventy-three n.w. of 
London. 

The population by the census of 1801 appeared to be 3097, viz. 
1394 males, and 1703 females, and the town contained 741 houses,- of 
which 48 w«re uninhabited; but in 1821 the population had increased 
4447, viz. 1890 males and 2557 females; and, it was possessed of 930 
houses. 

Barnaby Harrington, in his itinerary, thus humourously notices 
this place : 

* Old Town's Books, pp. 180- 

t Edward the tirst^ in the 22d. year of his reign, on the 6th of June, granted to 
Henry Lascy, earl of Lincoln, and constable of Chester, a market every week at his 
manor of Pontefract; and a fair for five days, viz. on the vigil of Palm-Sunday, Palm- 
Sunday, and three following days. 

t The measured distance from Pontefract to Ferrj'bridge, by two separate ways, is 
thus noted : from Pontefract cross, down the horsefair, broadlane, and by the wash, to 
Ferrybridge is 4686 yards : and from the cross down the horsefair, by the castle, mill- 
daan and St. Thomas' hill, is 44G0 yards. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. O 

Veni Pom fret,* ubi mi ram 
Arcem, anglisf regibus diram ; 
Laseris ortu celebrandam, 
Variis gestis memorandam; 
Nee in Pomfret, repens certior, 
Quam paupercxilus inerlior. 

The following latin description, copied from an old manuscript in 
the compiler's possession, may perhaps prove sufficiently interesting to 
have a place here : 

Per antiques villee de Pontefracto prospectus australis. 

A primatis seculis optimatum sedes. Post Alricum saxonem, illus- 
trissimarum Lasceiorum familiarium per CCL annos praedium, et 
caput baroniae. At demum per Aliciam, hseredem prae nobili Lancas- 
triensi, et postremo regiae devenit prosapiae. Castro olim, magnifico et 
munitissimo, ecclesia, coenobiis, xenodochiis, et aliis structuris speciosi^ 
decorata ; temporum vero decursu, et belli cladibus, hisce spoliata. 
Imprassentiarum solo fruitur faecundissimo, acre saluberrimo, et situ 
tam amaeno, ut abhinc totus pene venustus ager eboracensis specxiletur. 
Hisce, cum incolarum prosperitate, Cni fallit auguriurn^ in aeternum 
fruitura. -N. I. M. D. 

As the heathens had their good genii, so likewise their evil ones are 
traditionally handed down to us, by those many idle stories of local 
ghosts which the common people do still believe haunt cities, towns, 
and family seats, famous for their antiquities and decays ; — of this sort 
are the apparitions at Verulam, Silchester, Reculver and Rochester j 
the demon of Tedworth, the black dog of Winchester, the padfoot of 
Pontefrete, and the barguest of York, &c.t 

About a mile distant from the town, northwards, is the park, on an 
eligible part of which is built a grand stand, and the ridge above the 
course affords the finest prospect for an immense concourse of spectators. 
The races, which are annually held here in September, are generally 
attended by great numbers of the fashionable world, and are a period 
of general of festivity and merry-making.§ 

* Hie repetunt ortiim tristissiina funera rec^vini, 

■Qr.;." l..i'-hr>''t.!as x-vir.., cvcuti ,:o meis. 
'7 kere, 
' <: tear. . ' • 

fir.", rr.inai,-!. 



6 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

A new line of road, formed by public subscription, and extending 
from Leeds through this place taBarnsdale, where it communicates 
with the great north road, was opened in the 5''ear 1822 ; and, the 
royal union coach commenced running the 23d, of March in the same 
year, having discontinued its route by way of Ferrybridge. The first 
subscription raised to defray the expenditure of the formation of this 
road amounted to the sum of 10,141/. 5*. which being found inefficient, 
a further sum was advanced amongst the original subscribers " amount- 
ing to 3270/. making a total amount of 13,411/. 17*. 6d. 

Of men of genius, Pontefract can boast of but few being natives of 
the place. John Bramhall, who took an active part in the contentions 
of that unhappy monarch, Charles the first ; and who after the fatal 
fight at Marston-moor, fled with many others to the continent, was bom 
here about the year 1593. He held two public disputations at North- 
allerton in 1623, with three Jesuits, whom he so shamefully worsted by 
the evidence of truth, wisely and learnedly urged, that archbishop 
Mathews, who was then primate of York, hearing of his triumph^ 
created him his chaplain, in which station he continued until the 
archbishop's death,* at which time he was made prebendary of York 
and subdean of Ripon.f He afterwards retired to his parsonage and be- 
came beloved and admired by nobles and gentry, as well as by his parish- 
ioners ; yet here he lay like a jjrecious stone in the dirt, tiU Sir Thomas 
Wentworth, lord president of York, took notice of him. He behaved 
himself so piously that he was not only created bishop of Derry, but at 
length thought worthy to be the archbishop of Armagh, to which see he 
was translated on 18th. January, 1660.§ He died in the year 1663, at the 
advanced age of 70 years. Of his works the most celebrated was * The 
catching- of a Leviathan, 1658 ;' in which he contended greatly against 
Hobbes's notion on liberty and necessity. 

John Lund, who ranked as an author, and wrote many pieces in 
prose and verse, containing sentiments of satire not unworthy of a 
nobler poet, was also a native of Pontefract. Amongst his productions 
was ' The Mirror,' published in the year 1771, to which he prefixed 
the motto ' poeta naseitur non fit,' appertaining to his conditioa in Ufe, 
•ie being a barber and of mean parentage. In the same yeai' he pro- 
- -a collection -of poems in imitation of Prior, am^ ' ' 

; the * A^ew cos tie Rider' in iioftrr. as wi^ll a$ a <1r 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. / 

late J. Smith, Esq. of Heath, near Wakefield, were also the productions 
of his pen. In his poem called the Mit-ror, he thus speaks of himself : 

* Before the world when I these lines display, 
The snarling critics will be apt to say ; 
Why where the devil was hehom or bred ? 
What learning hath he got within his head ? 
Knows he the beauties of the classic page. 
Or, dares he with logicians engage ? 
Brief's my reply — of these I none can boast. 
Since in grammatic education crost ; 
I'm deaf— I'm poor---a tonsor is my trade. 
My motto tells you, I was born not made.' 

During the Saxon sovereignty, this place was styled Chirchebi,* 
and derived its name, most probably, from the erection of its church, a 
custom prevalent among the Saxons. The term kirk is at this day 
applied to churches in . Scotland, and the word bye, Saxon term for 
habitation, being coupled with it, would signify the town or hamlet 
adjoining. 

Camden informs us, on the authority of the Dods worth MSS. that 
one Askef was the first Saxon proprietor of the place, and that it 
descended by due succession to one Alric, from whom William the 
Conqueror took it.t Alric had issue Swayne, who had Adam Fitz- 
swayne, who had two daughters, one married to Galfredi Neville, and 
the other to Thomas Burge.§ 

Leland states ' that the castel, towne, and landes about Brokenbrigg 
longid afore the conquest to one Richard Asschenald, || a Saxon thane,' 
from whom came Ailrick and Aske ; yet the daughters of Adam Fitz- 
swaine, who were his descendants, had no portion of Brokenbrigg.^ 

Thomas de Castleford,a benedictine monk of Pontefract, flourished 
about the year 1326, and wrote a history of the place,:tt ' from which 

* Magna Britannia, 

t The family of the Askes, continued in this country until the time of Charles the 
first. Their seat was at Aske, in the parish of Easby, in Richmondshire. One Whyomere 
bearing tlie arms of Aske, was a kinsman to Alan, first earl of Britain, in the conqueror's 
reign, and had the grant of the manor of Aske. He married Annabel, daughter of Sir 
John Neville, of Hornby and Hootoii, knight; and had issue, Conan, Werner, Warine, 
Roger, and Hugh. Another branch married the daughter and heiress of De la Haye, 
of Aughton on the Derwernt, and by this they became lords of Ellerton and Aughton, 
and patrons of Ellerton Abbey, near Howden. They were also the lords of Marrick, 
in the North-Riding of Yorkshire, and founders of a cloister there. Robert Aske, Esq. 
was high sheiiif of the county of York, 19 Eliz. 

t Camden's Mag. Brittannia, by Gough, iii. p. 238 b. 26. C. B. 695. 

§ It is difficult to reconcile the above account of the Saxon proprietors with the 
silence of Domesday Book. The manor of Tateshall is said to have belonged to the 
king in the time of Edward, and as the burgh is noticed in, connection with Tateshall, 
without any Saxon proprietor being mentioned, it is natuial to infer that it equally 
belonged to the king. Tlie kiiir mip,ht indeed grav.t his right in the burgh, or what is 
now called the fee-farm rent, to the eibove family; which they might continue to enjoy 
without ever obtaining it as a fieehuld inheritance. In this case, though they would be 
considered as lords of Kirkbye in a popular sense, yet they would not be noticed iii 
Domesday Book as not being proprietors. Stowes Annals, p. 116. 

II Gough's Camden's Brit. iii.foUo 285. 

% Hollingshed's Chron. i fol. 40. 

Jt Thomte Castlefordi (Leland de viris illustrissimis. Oxon, 1709. p. 855, atque 
Bale et Pitts,) historiam Pontefiacti gesta sui cgenobii. 



8 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Leland learned man}'- new and curious particulars, whicli he had pro- 
posed to interweave in his civil history'.* He says the Noraians called it 
Pontfract from the following miracle : — William, archbishop of York, 
and son to king Stephen's sister, being on his return from Rome, was 
met here by a vast concourse of people, of whom so many crowded on 
the bridge, which laid over the wash, a small stream flowing on the 
eastern side of the church of All-hallows, that it broke down, and num- 
bers were precipitated into the water 5 yet through the fervency of the 
saint's prayers, none met a watery grave.f Brompton and Stubbs, how- 
ever, say the circumstance happened on the bridge over the Ouse at York, 
and Gent describes a representation of the miracle, to be painted on a 
window near to the place where it happened. AVhat tends to strengthen 
this fact, is, that this place was styled Pontfract anterior to this 
period, as appears from the charters of Robert de Pontfract to the 
monks of St. John the evangelist ; thus, * De domino suo de Kirkbye, 
et deo sancti Johanni, et monachis meis de Pontfract.' These charters 
were signed by Thomas archbishop of York, the first saint of that name, 
and Robert de Pontfract died in the seventh year of Henry the first, 
A.D. 1107, and 53 years must have elapsed previously to the ta'anslation 
of William to- the see. J 

The great historian, Hume, supposes it to have been called Pont- 
frete or Pontfreit, from the fertility of its soil, and the excellent pro- 
duce of its orchards. From poynum ferre he makes Pomfrete, which 
might not be improbable, could this orthography only be established. 
Leland says it is a French name bi-ought in by the Lascies, on account" 
of it being similar to Pontfrete in Nonnandy, §their native plac^, and 
that it was by them substituted for the old word Brokenbrigg. Camden 
also CM-robm-ates this last statement in these words : * Saxonicis 
temporibus Kirkbye vocabatur, sed noraianni a fi-acto ponte, gallice' 
Pontfi-act nominarunt ;'|| and Leland saith, ' Tl^at it is the towne called 
Legeolium, afterwards Brokenbrigge, for the mines of such a bridg yet 
ys scene scant half a mile east owt of old Pontfract, but I cannot justlie 
say, that this bridg stode ful on Watheling streate.'^ 

Other historians assert that it was situated below the church and 
bondgate mill, and derived its name from the decay of an old bridge 
over the wash or bourn, in the road from Pontefract to Knottingley, 
called the Redwall Went, by which stream the current of waters' 
flowing 6-om the springs above, supplied the upper and lower bondgate 

* Leland de Script.— Tanner BB. 156. 

t Gough's Camd. Brit, iii 286. 

t Barton's lives of the Saints. Mag. Brit. vi.p. 393, 645. Mag. Brit, Ti. p. 464, 18; 

I Vide MSS. Pedigree of T. Wilson, in BiWioth. Leeds. 

I Camden's Mag. Britannia, folio 711, 

^ Gough's Camd. Brit, iii^ 285. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 9 

or bourn gate mills,* and which when swollen with rains, rendered 
oftentimes the road quite impassable, before it was carried in the 
drains to Knottingley, or to serve the mills. But this stream yetains 
not its name above a bowshot, as by an inquisition, taken during the 
reign of Edward the second, the doubt seems to be cleared up concern- 
ing Pontefract bridge ; for it appears that one John Bubwith held the 
I7th part of a knight's fee,t nigh the old bridge ; juxta veterem pon- 
tem de Pontfract, and at this day a place called Bubwith-house ter- 
minates the stream.t 

Kyrkeby oppidum quod recentes vocant Pontemfractum. Oppidum: 
de Kyrkbye olhn adjacebat Ponti, quern incolae, quia jam prse senio ru- 
Inas agebat, vulgari lingua Brokenbrige vocabant. Distat hie pons nostria 
temporibus ad quingentos passus ab oppido. Sed jam ita usu inolevit, 
ut ex Brokenbrige invalente lingua gallica per nortmannos, in anglia 
Pontfrete vocetur. \\ 

The opinion of a respectable antiquarian, that the name Pontfract 
was given originally to Castleford, and that on the decay of the 
place,§ the inhabitants fled here, and granted to their new abode the 
same name, is erroneous and unsatisfactory. It is also incorrectly 
stated, that a bridge was built at Castleford at so early a period, for 
although we ftnd it noted, that when the navigation was formed 
there, the old Roman road appeared some feet below the surface of 
the ground, shelving towards the bed of the river ; yet the following 
historical fact evidently proves that no bridge was built anterior to the 
conquest. William the Conqueror, in the year 1070, receiving intelli- 
gence that the castle of York was besieged, and, that a general revolt 
had taken place amongst the English in the north, aided by the Scots 
and Danes ; levied a formidable army, at the head of which he marched 
towards the rebels, vowing in his wrath, that * by the splendor of 
God's face,' he would not leave a Northumbrian alive to stir up future 
insurrections. — In a word, William so executed his design, and with 
such unrelenting cruelty, that the whole country between York and 
Durham was made a di'eary desert, and remained so for the space of 
nine years.^ 

* The upper mill was situated within a short distance from the north east corner 
of the castle, and is now occupied as a manufactory for sacking; the lower one is situate 
about 600 yards below the castle, near the Knottingley road. This was internally de- 
molished, in 1766, and the materials sol-d. The meadow iu. which it stands was formerly 
a large sheet of water. 

t A barony consisted of thirteen knights' fees and a third part of another, and 
yielded a yearly revenue of 400 marks, or 266L 13s. 4d. Spelman.--Du Cange.— Gloss, in 
Voc. Baro Baronia. A knight's fee, in the time of Henry III. was 15L a year inheritance, 
■which was then held to be a convenient revenue to maintain a knight. Cam. Brit. De> 
grees of State. 

t Gent's Historia Compendiosa Romana ii. 27. 

§ Camden's Mag. Brit, by Gough, folio 238, a. 

H Leland's Collect, iv. 4') et seq. Mon. Ang. Ex chronico, Torcvallensi aut. incext. 
sed scrip, temp. Richardi primi. 

f K. Hoveden, col. ii, 25y, » 



10' HISTORY OF PONTEFRAGT. 

Whilst on his bloody and desolating march, William came to Ponte- 
fract, then styled Kirkbye, when he discovered that the rebels had 
destroyed the bridge over the Aire at Ferrybridge, and the waters 
being much swollen, he despaired of obtaining a passage for a con- 
siderable time. Impatiently did he wait here three weeks, when one 
of his Norman knights, called Lisours, (probably the same person 
afterwards called Lascy,) discovered a ford by which William and his 
forces passed the river. It is most probable that this ford was at 
Castleford, for the very name implies that the sti-eam was fordable 
here. 

Drake states it positively to have arisen from the old Legeolimn of 
Antoninus ;* and, Leland says, * as far as I can gather this is the 
town anciently called Legeolium,' where the roman garrison was 
kept; which, according to Hoveden the historian, was situated at 
Casterford,t now called Castleford.t At this village, about two miles 
distant from Pontefi'act,§ was fought a bloody engagement between 
the Danes and Saxons under Edred, in the year 950. Polydore Virgil, 
an Urbinet Italian, and canon of St. Paul's in the days of Henry VIII, 
supposes Pontefract to be the Camulodunum of the Romans ; yet 
HoUingshed states this to be an error, and places Camulodunum cis far 
^tant as Colchester, 



* Anton. Iter. v. et vr. 

t Ran Higd. Simon Dun, 

t Besides the number of coins dug up in the castle garth here, there have Been 
discovered other monuments of Roman elegance. T. Wilson, F.R.S. in a letter to the 
author of Eboracum, states, that he had seen at Castleford several fragments of a tesse- 
lated pavement, which had been discovered in a garden adjoining to the bean-field. 

§ * From Pontfract to Castelleford village, two miles moste by enclosid ground. 
One shoid me there a garthe by the chirch-yarde, wher many straungg thinges of foun- 
dation hath been found, and hee said, thatther had been a castelle but it was rather 
xum manor place.' Leland's Itiu. 46. 



eiSTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 11 



SECTION II. 



IF ROM the grant of the possessions made by the Norman Conqueror 
to Hyldebert or Ilbert de Lascy,* (as in Domesday Book survey is 
noted,) it is evident, that this place was a borough in the . time of 
Edward the Confessor, but how long it enjoyed the privilege anterior 
to this period is uncertain. 

* The possessions of Ilbert are thus recorded in Domesday Book survey : 

Manok : In Chirchebi. —Forn had half a carucate of land to be taxed, and there 

may be half a plough there. Ilbert now has it, audit is waste. Value in king Edward's 

time five shillings. 

■Jj|T[N TATESHALL sunt, xvi car. trae. sine geido ubi poss. ee viii car. Hoc ^ hb. rex, 
N<;. nt. Ilbtus ibi nii car. et Lx burgenses minatos vii coteros, et xvi vill et viii bord 
hntes XVIII car. Ibi. e. aecola et pbr. et i piscaria et iii- mold, redd XLir sol. et iii ac pti 
Silua past i lev. Ig. et dim. lat. Tot ^ I lev. et dim. Ig. et dim. lat. T. R. E. ual xx lib. m 
XV lib. Infra hanc ceta. ctinet^eleraosina.paupiurtu 

jy^D EUNDE manor adiacet. H. soca.Manestorp. Barnebi. Silcheston. Simulv. car. 
tree, et dim. ad gld. ubi poss. ee v. car. Ibi sunt ix uilli et iii bord. hntes mi car. 

'Manor. — In Tateshall, there are sixteen carucates of land, not taxed, where 
there may be nine ploughs.' The .king had this manor, ilbert now has there four 
ploughs and sixty small burgesses, and sixteen cottars, and sixteen villanes, and eight 
bordars, having 18 ploughs. There is a church there, and three mills .pay 42s. and three 
acres of meadow. Wood pasture one mile long, and half broad. The whole one mile 
and a half long and half broad. Valvue in king. Ed ward's time 20i. now. 15Z. The alms 
land of the poor is contained within this limit. To the manor belong the soke of these 
Manesthorpe (Mensthorp,'3 two carucates : Silchestone (Silkstone,) one and a half caru- 
cates : Barnebi (Barnby,) two carucates : To be taxed together, five and half carucates, 
where there may be five ploughs. There are there nine villanes, and three bordars hav- 
ing four ploughs.' Tateshall or Tanshelf, forms part of the present town of Pontefract, 
although not within the borough, and Kirkby was inckxded as a part of tiie manor of 
Tateshall. Places during the Saxon era derived their names from families resident in 
them, but in the time of the Normans it was the reverse. The family name of Tate 
continued in Tanshelf until within a short period, and the woi-d /lam signifies a villa. 
The alms house mentioned is that of St. Nicholas. 

Manor, manerium, a ntanuendo, (because of the residence of the owmer,) seems to 
have been a district of ground, held by lords or great personages, who kept in their ovra. 
hands so much land, as was necessary for the use of their families, which were called 
terr^ dominicales, or demesne lands, being occupied by the lord or dominus manerii, and his 
servants. The other or tenemental lands, they distributed amongst their tenants. The 
residue of the manor being uncultivated, was termed the ' lord's waste,' and served for 
public roads, a*well as common pasture for the use of the lord and his tenants.— Horn's 
Mirror Just. lib. i. 

Burgesses, (burgarii et burgenses,) were men of trade, or inhabitants of a borough 
or walled town.— Dom. Boc. 

Cottars, (cottarii, sax. cofe,; a cottage, were not servile tenants, but had a free soc- 
age tenure, and paid a stated firm, in provisions or money, with occasional customary 
services; and generally occupied small tenements, with a curtilage, at a small rent.— 
Reg. Rich. app. 66. Cotarii debent talliari ad voluntatem domini, facereservita incerta; 
nihil dare, nihil vendere, nihil proprium habere, nee possunt acquirere nisi ad promo- 
tionem domini sui — Ex lib. irrot. Eccl. Christi Cantuar, f. 221.— Cowell. 

Bordars, (bordarii,) were boors or husbandmen, holding a little house and a small 
plot of ground. They also waited at the tables, and were employed in other offices .ia 
their master's house. 

Cottages, a gall, bord, a cottage.—Co. Lit. 5. 



12 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

A law was enacted by king Athelstan, that no Saxon could enjoy 
the dignity of a thane,* without possessing a church ; and if the popu- 
lation was such, as to deem it advisable to erect a church in the 
seventh century, it may have probably been accounted a borough from 
that period. Boroughs, during the time of the Romans, were certain 
plots of ground where the warriors pitched their tents ; and, from 
whence ' theye might haue easie accesse unto their aduersaries, if anie 
outrage were wrought, or rebellion moued against them.'t They 
were generally walled about with stone walls, containing many acres 
of ground, with houses, &c. within, and had diverse gates or ports ;% 
from whence the tenn burgh or borough €ame to signify a walled or 
fortified place ; as castles were built for the defence of towns.§ The 
land, &c. within the limits thus erected, might belong to the crown, 
the clergy, or the baronage. In burghs, during the Saxon period, 
every freeman who occupied a house, and paid the rent,|| was termed 
a burgess, and enjoyed various privileges, the impost being light. 

Dr. Cowell states the word borough to be derived from the French 
word burgy i. e. pagus ; or from the Saxon word, borhoe, pignus ; or 
as is stated in Mr. Lye's dictionary, from burg^ a city, town, tower, or 
castle.^ It is very probable, that it was taken for those companies of 
ten families which were pledges for each other, and hence comes the 
word view of frank-pledge. It is also defined to be a place of safety 
and privilege, by Somnor ; and Glanville affirms, that in the reign of 
Henry II., boroughs possessed such great privileges, that a bondsman, 
©r servant remaining in one for a year and a day, was made a freeman. 

Alfred the Great, the Numa Pompilius of his time, first di\T.ded all 
England into shires, (Sax. scyrcy to branch or divide,) or counties, the 

ViLLANES, (villani,) were employed in rustic works of the most sordid kind. — They 
belonged chiefly to lords of manors, and were either fji/anes reo-arda?!^ annexed to the 
manor or land, or villanes en gross, annexed to the person of the lord, and transferrable 
by deed, from one owner to another. They could not quit the service of the lord with- 
out his permission, and if they ran away, were reclaimed like goods and chattels. They 
and their posterity were in bondage, and had sometimes the name of native applied to 
them.— M- 756. They were frequently emancipated in prodigious numbers, in order to be 
enrolled as soldiers.-— Sullivan's Lect. 2.5 p. 258, 259. 

Carucates, (carucata terrce,) was a quantity of land, uncertain in its contents, and 
the tribute levied upon it was termed canigmm. Bract, lib. 2. c. 17. c. 26. It sometimes 
contained hotises, mills, pastures, meadow, wood, &c. — Co. Lit. sec. 119. Dr. Thorn- 
ton says, a carucate contained KK) acres, six score to the hundred, but were more or less 
according to the lightness or stiffness of the soil. 

PASTirRE, (pastura.) This pasture most probably stretched along the site of the pre- 
sent town, through fryar-wood gardens to Carlton and South Hardwick, on the side of 
which all way the Roman road to Legeolium passed. 

* Thanes were not members of a tithing, but the family of a thane was considered 

a tithing within itself, the thane being responsible for all its members Wilkins' 

leges Saxon, p. 16. They were in war time, the flower of the Saxon armies, and in 
peace swelled tlieir monarch's train, adding greatly to the splendor of his court. — 
Henry's Hist, of Britain, iii. 238. 

t HoUingshed's Chronicles, i. 216, b. 60. 

t Verstegan. § Lit. Sect. 164. 

II Gabel, gavel, (gahlium,) or rent, was a customary duty or service, yielded to the 
king or other lord. Any impost upon goods, also tribute or any kind o'f payment or 
tax.— Janus. Angl. p. 129. 

^ Gough's Camden's Brittannia, i, clx. 



HISTORY OF PONTEF^ACT. 13 

counties into hundreds, and the hundreds into tithings : so that he may 
be properly said to be the first institutor of pledges. By the Saxon 
laws, persons removing from place to place, were obliged to find 
pledges, before they were permitted to reside. The word pledge signi- 
fies, the suretyship, undertaking, or answering for another, and was 
given for another's good behaviour.* 

Free boroughs and burgesses, were so called from their freedom in 
buying and selling without disturbance, and were exempt from toll, 
and granted by charter. Brady also states, that parliament boroughs 
are either by charter, or are towns holden of the king in ancient de- 
mesnes. Lindewood upon the provincial, (ut singula ac sensibus) thus 
writes : — * Aliqui interpretantur burgum esse castrum vel locum ubi 
sunt per limites, habitacula plura constituta :' and again, * Burgus dici 
potest villa quaecunque, alia a civitate in qua est universitas approbata.* 
In the king's expeditions every five hides appear to have furnished one 
man, and from the state of the population, the burgh of Kirkbye 
would only have one man to raise.f 

Boroughs are ancient towns so incorporated with power to hold 
plea by writ of ex gravi querela or the like ; from whence come bur- 
gesses to parliament ; and this makes a difference between a borough 
and a town. So that upland towns, that are not ruled and go- 
verned as a borough is, are called towns, although they are enclosed 
with walls, as Ludlow, and the like. And every borough is a town, 
though every town is not a borough. 

Some boroughs are by prescription, some by charter, and some by 
act of parliament. The borough of Pontefract at first was one of the 
horoughs invested in the baronage.J 

A borough intrinsically, is a circumscribed jurisdiction, and has 
peculiar officers, and rights. Therefore it is very reasonable to 
suppose, that all occurrences, not cognizable at law, in the courts 
at Westminster, arising therein, were originally confined and limited 
to the bounds of such borough. And this position is demonstrable 
from the foreign plea, in a personal action, always allowed, where 
the debt was not contracted in, and the defendant lived without 
the borough. This is also corroborated, by the burgesses being ex- 
empt from serving on juries, at the assizes. For aU acts committed 
or to be done, without such borough, are foreign and extra-judicial, 
as to the same. 

* Bracton lib. 3, tract 2, cap 10. 

t If the king send an army any where, one soldier shall go for five hides of land, 
and for his victuals and pay, eveiy hide shall give four shillings for two months. — Com. 
Berokescire. Dom. Boc. 

t The names of all the towns in England, and which are so incorporated, and 
which not, are of record in the exchequer. And all charters are recorded in the several 
ofeces, for public use...»FiNCH. Tetlow's Historical Acco^mt of Pontefract. 



14 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

The executive officers of any borough, acting without the limits 
tliereof, are like the sheriff, acting in another county, where he has no 
right. And to indicate how careful the ancients were in the preservation 
of boundaries, Greenwood has this emphatical charge to the jury in his 
court leet : * You shall inquiie if any ancient bounds or land-marks be 
withdi'awn and taken away, such as distinguish, or divide hundi-eds, 
parishes, tithings, commons, common-meadows, and common fields, 
to avoid confusion, and consequently dissension.' 

Though boroughs are generally esteemed fuU of corniption and 
venality, stiU it is held by several eminent writers, they are the oldest 
part of the constitution ; that they were in great estimation in former 
parliaments is evident from history. 

Many authors ascribe the first appearance of knights and citizens, 
or burgesses in parliament, to have been in the time of the Normans ; 
yet ' long ere this,' says Bede, ' there were many famous cities, besides 
innumerable walled towns and castles ;' and it is very probable, that 
the town of Kirkbye or Pontefract, might be included in the latter. 
The Anglo-Saxon boroughs were endowed with land, and had a title 
to be present by their deputies or suitors in the councils of the nation^ 
and the wites mentioned as a part of their parliaments or councils, 
were the knights of shires and burgesses. 

To all the enjoyments, however, of which England might be pos- 
sessed, the Norman conquest proved fatal in its conseqviences. ^Wil- 
liam, under the semblance of the administration of a lawful prince, 
and the desire of confirming all the ancient privileges and immunities, 
imposed on the inhabitants the tax Danegelt* so odious to them, 
which had been abolished by Edward the Confessor; and, he then 
established the feudal law, practised in Normandy and France. With 
very few exceptions, he divided all the lands of the kingdom into baro- 
nies; and, to his most potent followers,t granted a great part of the 
possessions wrested fi'om the Saxons, to be held of him, wi capite, 
i. e. on military conditions. 

* This tribute, called Danigeld or Danegelt, was first ordained on account of the 
pirates. To check their insolence, Danigeld was levied annually, twelve pence on every 
hide throughout the country, to hire men to oppose the pirates. From this tax every 
church, and every estate held in property by the church, wheresoever it lay, was ex- 
empted : contributing nothing towards this payment, because more dependance was 
placed on the church than on the defence of arms. — Antient Law. Cough's Camden's 
Brit.— Danes, i. p. cbcxvii. 

t To Ilbert de Lascy he gave 150 lordships in the county of York, including those 
of Kirkbye and Tateshall. 

To earl Alane, his nephew, amongst other grants he gave the two following^ 

In Chirchebi, to be taxed eight carucates, and there may be four ploughs. Ulchil 
had there (one carucate and a half,) one manor. Ligulf and Tor and Gamel and Srward 
had the rest of the land, with one hall. Picot now has it of earl Alane and it is waste : 
value in king Edward's time ten shillings. The whole one mile long and one broad. 
Two carucates of this land are in the soke of Alreton (EUerton.) 

In Chirchebi, to be taxed three carucates, and there may be two ploughs. 
Eldred had these one manor. The same now has it of the earl in demesne, one plough, 
and six villanes witJi two ploughs. The whole one mile long, and two quarentens 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



15 



These lands were then re-let hy the barons, to other foreigners 
tinder the denomination of knights and vassals, and thus the freedmen 
where deprived of their privileges, and the lands subjected to this 
arbitrary species of tenure. The burgesses of Kirkbye became subject 
to Ilbert de Lascy, their feudal lord, and the court was instituted in 
place of the burgh-mote. Arbitrary and tyrannical exactions were 
imposed, and every hide of land was taxed. In the roll of Winton,^ it 
was noted, how many plough lands, pastures, fens, marshes, woods, 
farms, or tenements each shire contained, with their worth ; together 
with all the villanes and cattle. 

Ilbert obtained a confirmation of all his grants in the tenth year 
of William's reign, and dying shortly afterwards, his vast possessions 
devolved to his eldest son Roger, who granted to the burgesses the 
following charter : — 

CHARTER OF ROGER DE LASCY. 

(endorsed in the original, No. 1.) 

Know, persons present and to come, that I, Roger de Lascy, 
constable of Chester, have given and granted, and by this my present 
charter, have confirmed to my burgesses of Pontefract, their heirs 
and successors, franchise and free-burgage, and their tofts, to hold 
of me and my heirs, in fee and in inheritance, freely, quietly, honour- 
ably, and wholly. 

By rendering yearly to me and my heirs, twelve pence for every 
whole toft, as they did in the time of Henry de Lascy for all services, 
paying a moiety of the ferm at mid-lent, and a moiety at the feast of 
St. Michael. Moreover, I have granted and confirmed to my aforesaid 
burgesses, and their successors, the liberties, and (liheras leges,) free 
laws, which the burgesses of the lord the king of Grimsby use, which 

broad, value in king Edward's time, ten shillings, now sixteen shillings. Dom.Boc 
Picot was a nobleman in William's train, as appears by the roll of Battle Abbey. 
HoLLiNGSHED. Tlicse posscssions belonged to Edwin earl of Mercia previov\sly to the 
Conquest, and were granted to Alane, at the request of queen Maude, whilst Wil- 
liam held siege before York. Hollingshed. 

QuARANTBN (quarantina,) was a quantity of land containing 40 perches. Bbady 
on Boroughs, p. 18. 

Amongst the grants of the earl of Morton, was the following : 

In Chirchebi, Chilbert had one manor, of four and a half carucates; Nigel has 
it, and it is waste. 

Amongst the grants of Gospatric, were 

In Chirchebi, (manor,) six carucates of land to be taxed. Land to three ploughs. 

In Chirchebi, (manor,) five carucates of land to be taxed. Land to three ploughs. 
There is now there one plough, and eight villanes with two bordars. Coppice wood 
half a mile long and four quarantens broad. The whole one mile long and half 
broad. Value in king Edward's time, twenty shillings, now ten shillings. William 
had here three manors. 

In Chirchebi, (manor,) three thanes had four carucates, and two oxgangs to 
be taxed. Land to two ploughs, thirty shillings. 

In Chirchebi, (manor.) Uglebert had half a carucate to be taxed. Land to 
one plough. Ten shillings. 

In Chirchebi, (manor.) Gospatric had six carucates to be taxed. Land to 
three ploughs. Twenty shillings. 

* So called from its being kept in the cathedral at Winchester, Domus Dei 
being the place where it was deposited, the English called it Domesday Book. 



16 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

are as follow ; Every burgess may give or sell his land to whomsoever 
he will, unless in franc-almoigne, (nisi religioni,) saving the ferm of 
the lord, and he shall enter a plea, and render the land into the 
hand of the praetor, for the use of the lord, and shall give one penny 
of toll, and the praitor shall give the land to the buyer, by the gift of 
the lord, quit of all things, and the buyer shall give likewise one 
penny : Whoever shall purchase any part of any toft, and be seized as 
aforesaid, he is as free as if he bought a whole toft. If any person 
shall have more houses than one in his toft, and shall let them to any 
persons, they shall be free to sell and to buy all wares, but he shall 
give four pence a year to the praetor. He who shall dwell in a capital 
or mansion-house, shall be vmmolested and free, as if he were a bur- 
gess. Whosoever shall transgress in the borough aforesaid, shall be 
attached there ; and stand to the law by judgment in the court of the 
burgesses. But the aforesaid burgesses shall not go out of their borough 
for any plea, or any plaint save only for pleas of the crown. When 
the praetor has paid the borough rent to the lord, at the feast of saint 
Michael, the lord shall remove him, and substitute whomsoever he 
shall please, but the bm'gesses shall be preferred, if they will give as- 
much as others. 

Whoever shall charge another person of any offence in a plea 
before the praetor, that unjustly and vidthout reason, and being in 
peace, he has wronged him, and such person shall deny the injury, 
and the non-reason, and the being in peace, and whatsoever he hath 
said against him, he hath given a good answer. He who shall deny 
the injury, or the non-reason, or the being in peace, and hath not been 
culpable of any of these things, he shall be adjudged to be in the miseri- 
cordia of the praetor, and by his forfeiture, he shall recover his answer. 
He who shall begin to deny his words exactly for a negative, and shall 
not exactly deny all, he fails, and by his forfeiture he shall recover his 
answer. The mulct of the bui-gesses shall be detennined by twelve 
lawful men, elected for this pm-pose, if the praetor shall will to aggreive 
any one. None of the burgesses shall give forfeit for the first default,. 
but for the second, unless he shall be able to save his day. 
Every burgess shall pledge his own proper naam or distress, un- 
less he shall be arraigned upon a plea of the crown, of the lord 
king, or have failed to incur his proper pledge. If a servant of 
the praetor has spoken against a burgess, he shall not answer 
without witness. If a bm-gess be arraigned by his peer, for shedding 
of blood, or for open battery, and he shall deny it, he shall swear 
himself on the sixth day; if not of bloodshed, he shall swear liim- 
self on the third day. If any other than a burgess shall have beea 



niSTORY OF POKTEFRACT. 17 

accuse I by u burgess of the same thiii^, lie shall ywcar himself on the 
twelfth Jay. Every burgess is bound to answer to another burgess, 
M^ithoLit Mdtness, but not to a foreigner, unless concerning an apparent 
f xt or 60A. If a burgeos shr.ll take an oath of his peer, unless it 
sivallbe f^r m, .Tcbt, hx. Khali ]»e in f rfeit, if of another tha? his peer, 
]<c sh.lllv rx'iuit. If a f rci^-n^r sh.:ll take an >at]«. fr(>ri a burgess, 
he slialll'C in tl\e greatest f.rfeit. If a f.-reigner shall owe i Tebt to 
jiny burgess, it is lawful for l-im <>n eveiy (Tay ^)f the week, to t.-.ke ri 
nar.m or Jistress upon 1dm, without the licence of t^ c ;>rcett r, unless on 
the fair of Saint Egi lius. If a naam of any burgess be taken over 
another, he shall be jaAgeJ on the first d.-yf the contention (or 
wrath,) to g6 and discharge it at his own ex^^-ence : which, if lie shall 
not do, he shall be c^mielle-l by a i>roper naam of wrath. He who 
shall take away the lor.Vs toll, shall remain in the following forfeit ; 
to AV'it, for a farthing, five shillings and a farthing ; for a half-i)enny, 
ten sliillings and a halfpenny ; for three farthings, fifteen shillings 
and three farthings; for a pennj'-, twenty shillings and a penny. It 
is lawful for every one in Ivis ground to make any sort of warehouses 
whatsoever, for making up the ferm. of the lord. Whosoever shall 
deny or grant ariy thing, other than that of which lie be accused, he 
shall abi'le in forfeit. Every burgess inaj- liring bread, corn, &c. by 
water and by land, whensoever he will, an.l all other wares, without 
custom and let, unless he be jirohibited by the lord or his bailiifs. The 
aforesaid burgesses are not bound to answer any one concerning any 
tenement of theirs, in which they have been seized by the hand of the 
prajtor, and have held for one whole year and a 'lay without challenge. 
If any one be cited in a plea of the burgesses whilst ]\e is elsewhere 
about his business, he sh.all be acquit for the saving of his days when 
he returns. If any one be accused of larceny or felony, by any per- 
son ; we will judge him in our l)orough, the lord's Serjeant assisting 
lis, executing the law togetber at one time, with thirty-six compurga- 
tors. If at another time, he shall be accused either by battle oi- by 
water, he shall purge (or clear) himself. No woman shall give custom 
in our borough for selling beer. M(treover I have given and granted 
and by my present charter, I have ccmfirmed to my said bm-gesses of 
Pe»ntefract, and their heirs and successors, acquittance from all toll and 
custom throiigTi my whole land, appertaining, belongin.-^' to the castel- 
lany of Pontefract, and to the castellany of Clitherow. And for having, 
and firmly holding this donation, and concession of liberty, my aforesaid 
burgesses of Pontefract have given me three hundred marks of silver- 
Y/ltnessea, Hubert by the grace of our Lord, archbishop of Canter- 
bui-y, the carl Roger Bigot, William Cde sanctae mariae eccUsia,) of the 

J) 



18 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

church of St. Mary, William de Warren, Ralph archdeacon of Here- 
ford, Richard de Harriett, Simon de Pateshill, Hugo de Peverell, 
Osbert fil. Herby, Richard of Chester, Hugo de Boby, Roger de Bavent, 
Radulph fil. Radulph, Walter de Bevinton, Alan de Liniby, Thomas 
111. Thomas, Robert de Vavasour, Aldred de Button, Robert Wallensis, 
Adam de Reineville, John de Birkin, Yirvone de Lunevers, Thomas de- 
Reineville. Dated, the vi of the Ides of June, at Westminster, before 
the justices^ of Richard, the lord and king, in the 5th year of his 
coronation, 1194. ; j 

This charter, although it grants all privileges heretofore enjoyed^ 
by the burgesses, clearly evinces that the burgesses were invested- 
with no authority save what Roger de Lascy deemed proper to bestow^ 
He afterwards granted to them this second charter, which relateth to 
the land held^by the burgesses in the moor of Pontefraet. 

CHARTER OF ROGER DE LASCY, 

(annexed to No. I.) 

All persons present and to conae. Know that I, Roger dre Lascy,. 
constable of Chester, have given and granted, and by this my present' 
charter, have confirmed to my burgesses pf Pontefraet, who have land 
in the moor, one hundred and eighty and fourteen acres and a half 
in the nioor, to hold of them and their heirs of me and my heirs, 
freely, quietly, peaceably ; by rendering therefore, yearly to me and 
my heirs, for all services, for every acre, fourpence of ferm or rent at 
the feast of St. Michael, that is to say, to Spracligenus thirty-twa 
acres ; to Hervere, his son-in-law, four ; to Ernisius, nineteen ; to- 
Elias, his son, eleven ; taEdwinus> the son of Waldanus, eleven and a 
half; to Alexander, the son of Hereward, ten; to Matildas Rufus> 
nine ; to Simon, his son-in-law, two ; to Thomas, the son of Winiarias, 
two ; to Gilbert, the son of Miruldus, thirteen ; to Benedictine, the 
son of Ranulphus, three ; to the heir of John Nobilis, three ; to Wil- 
liam the son of Aldred, and to William his son, three ; to the heirs of 
Richard, the son of Harald, thi-^e and, a half ; to Aldred, the son of 
Aldred, six ; to Semanus, six ; to Astrin, the son of Stephen, three ; 
to Simon, the son of Benedict, eight ; to Robert the son of Gervise, 
two and a half; to William, the son of Benedict, three ; to Robert, 
the son of John, nine ; to William, the brother of Benedict, and Robert, 
the son of Hadulphus, three ; to Ranulph, the son of Walter, three , 
to the heirs of Hervey, the clerk, six ; to Hervey of Kasching, seven ; 
to Alexander, the provost, one ; to William, the son of Lewinus, 
eleven. These witnesses ; Eustachius, the brother of the lord ; Robert 
Walleiisis, William de Longueville, Jordanus Folliott^ Gilbert de 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACt, 19 

•Lasc)", William de Bella-mountj Richard de Stap^lton, Magridus Rei- 
mudus, Richard the clerk, William the son of Gerondas, axid others. 
Sealed with the seals of Roger and Henry de Lascy. 

The antiquity of the above charters cannot be too much admired. 
They are couched in the old Saxon way, after the manner of the 
ancient canons of the church. Before the conquest charters were 
usually dated sometimes by olympiads, and inductions, and some- 
times by calends, nones, and ides ; but most frequently by the year 
of our Lord* 

Henry de Lascy, who succeeded Roger de Lascy in the enjoyment 
of all his possessions, granted the following charter to the burgesses, 
in confirmation of all their former rights. 

CHARTER OF HENRY DE LASCY. 

(endorsed in original No. 2.) 

Henry de Lascy, earl of Lincoln, and constable of Chester, to all 
persons, to whom this present writing shall come. Greeting in the 
Lord, 

Know ye, that we have inspected a charter of Roger de Lascy, our 
ancestor, in these words, (here follow the charters of Roger de Lasct/i) 
We therefore, the said donation and concession ratifying and approv- 
ing, the same for us and our heirs aforesaid, do, to the aforesaid, our 
burgesses, and their successors, grant and have confirmed, to have 
and to hold the same, to them and their heirs, of us and our heirs, for 
ever, as they were wont to have the same in the time of our ancestors. 
In witness whereof to this present charter, we have caused our seal 
to be affixed. These being witnesses : Sir Peter of Chester, Provost 
of Beverley, Sir- John Beck, John le Vavasour, Alexander de Montforte, 
William le Vavasour, Robert fil. Thomas, Stephen le Wallensis, knights ; 
Simon de Thorp seneschall of Kirkb)^e, Nicholas de Burton, and 
others. Dated at Pontefract, on the day of the apostles Phillip and 
James, in the sixth year of the reign of king Edward. And for the 
confirmation, the aforesaid burgesses have given us a hundred marks 
of silver. 

Henry de Lascy afterwards granted them another charter, dated in 
the sixth year of Edward 1. 1278, whereby they should enjoy hereditary 
right in the sheds they had erected ; which runs as folio -vs : — 

CHARTER OF HENRY DE LASCY. 

(endorsed in original NorS.) 

Henry de Lascy, earl of Lincoln and constable of Chester, to all 
persons to whom this present writing shall come, Greeting in the 
Lord, 

"* Tetlow's Hist, of Pontefract, p. 25. 



20 1TIST0.1Y or POIsTF.FP.AcT. 

Knoav \e, that V, o, even iit the feast of the apostle Phillip and 
^anieSpin the sixth year of the reign of Idn^ Edwr.rd, have p;iMntecl, 
and by this present writing, for us and our heirs, have confirmed to 
our beloved burgesses, and men of Pontefract, all the sheds (or stalls) 
M'hich they shrill be, or their ancestors have been able to erect in the 
market, and our waste ground of the said \illage, to have, and to hold 
to our said biu'gesscs, and men, and their heu-s and successors, of us 
and our heks fieely, quietly, and fairly and peaceably, by hei cditaiy 
I'ight for ever, bj- rendering, therefore, annually to us and our heirs, the 
due and accustomed ferm, (or rtnt,) at the usual and accustomed times. 
And that we wiU an>l giant, that neither we nor (yur heirs, noi' any- 
other in I -ur name, slinll have, or set u^ henceforth, any right or clfiim 
iu the said sheds, ((rr r-tills,) bur the due and rccc.iitcmt^' fen? or 
rent only. To L/j ?:ret uit charter, vre have caiioed ciu seals to be 
affixed, and for this our grant and acquittance, the burgesses and our 
men have given to us fort^' i^ouuds sterling. The^e b^ing witnesoes : 
Dom. Petr. de Cestirse, Governor of Beverley, the lord John de Beck, 
John de Vavasour, Alexander de Montfoile, William de Vavasour, 
Robert, the son of 'JTiomas, Stephen le Wallensis, knights ; Simon de 
Thorp, seneschall of Pontefract, Thomas de Birkin, constabidurius 
ejusdem, Peter de Kirkett)n, William de Malton, Hemy de Kirkeby, 
Nicholas de Burton, and others. Dated, apud Pontefract, St. Phillipas 
et Jude dies, vi. Edwardi piimi, 1278. 

In the reign of William llufus, Henry de Lasc^'- had confirmed to 
him also, the customs belonging to" the castle and honor of Pontefract. 

In this state of dependence did the burgesses remain, until the 
diikes of Lancaster, v.ho lost their title in the kings of iJn gland, 
became possessors of the place. Henry V. and VI. ratified and con- 
firmed all the grants, declarations and franchises, contaiiied in idl fimner 
charters, and which had been granted to the borough; as also, 
to the honor of l^tntefract aj\l Duchy of Lancaster; by letters 
patent, an I with the c- -nsent, an-l authority of both houses of 3^ ai'- 
liament. 

Richard III. in V'.e sec nl yer.r of his reign, inc. .r} -orated the 
borough, electing J'»]m ITill, one jf the burgesses, the fii'st maynr. 
He ordained tl\^X thej' ?nig?it liave a merchant's guil'l; and use the 
same liberties, as the ' rough of Stamf.rd; that tliey nught ha^ e a 
common seal, and chuse out of themselves, at a certain time, thirt'jen 
comburgesses, one of \rhich shordd always be major. That they 
might chuse put of the burgesses, t^vo Serjeants, to carry the nace, 
vAth the arms cf the ]dng and his successors thereon engraved; 
and there is a prirtieular clans: what perscns shall be eapr.eit'ite.'; to 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 21 

>JL' chosen mayor. Many strong powers and privileges are contained 
in this charter; as follows :— 

RICHARD THE THIRJ3's CHARTER OF INCORPORATION. 

(endorsed in orii^'ciial, No. 4.) 

RICHARD, by the grace of God king of England and France, 
lord of Ireland and duke of Lancaster, To the Archbishops, Bishops, 
Abbots, Priors, Dukes, Earls, iiarons. Justices, Sheriffs, Eschaitors, 
Ofl&cers, Ministers, and to all his bailiffs and faithful subjects Grcetina:, 

Know ye that We, not only for the love and affection which we 
have and bear for our town and borough of Pontefract, and for our beloved 
and faithful bailiffs and burgesses of the same, but also being desirous 
that they be worthily rewarded for their services, heretofore so 
agreeable and pleasing to us, proportionably to their great costs apjl 
charges, repeatedly laid out in that behalf, now fresh in our mind, out 
of our certain knowledge and mere motion, have ordained, constituted, 
and appointed and made our beloved subject John Hill, one of the 
burgesses of the said town or borough, the mayor of the said town or 
borough, and out of our special grace we have granted and by this 
our present writing have confirmed for us and our heirs, to them the 
mayor and burgesses of the said town or borough for ever, these liber- 
ties, franchises, remunerations and immunities hereunder written ; 
that is to say, that the borough be from henceforth a free borough in 
reality and name, to consist of a mayor and burgesses, and that the said 
mayor and burgesses and their heirs and successors be free burgesses, 
and may have a merchant's guild, and use and enjoy the same liber- 
ties and franchises in the said bol'ough, which the burgesses and in- 
habitants of the viUage or borough of Stamford have heretofore used 
and enjoyed, and use and enjoy. 

Moreover we will, and grant, by these presents for us and our 
heirs, that the said present mayor and burgesses, and their successors 
aforesaid being mayors and burgesses of the town or borough thus 
incorporated, be a body corporate for ever, in reality and name, by 
the name of the mayor and burgesses of the town or borough of Pon- 
tefract ; AND that they may have perpetual succession ; and that the 
«aid present mayor and 1 urgesses and their successors aforesaid by 
the said name, may he persons fit and capabfe in law to purchase lands, 
tenements, rents, services and possessions whatsoever ; and to prose- 
cute and defend all and singular pleas, suits, ;>laints, demands, actions, 
real, personal and mixed, now depending or to be depending in any of 
our courts whatsoever, or of our heirs or of any other persons whatso- 
ever, as well before us and our heirs as before any justices and judges 



22 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

whatsoever spiritual and temporal, and that in the same they may 
plead and be impleaded, may answer and be answered. And that 
they may have a common seal for the business of the town or borough 
aforesaid, to be preserved for ever ; and also we have granted, and hy 
these presents do grant, for us and our heirs, to the said present mayor 
and burgesses, and their heirs and successors for ever, that the said 
present mayor and burgesses and their successors being maj'ors and bur- 
gesses, upon the feast of St. Michael the archangel, next ensuing the 
date of these presents, and afterwards from year to year, upon the said 
feast day, may amongst the said burgesses, in a certain hall, called the 
mote-hall, chuse out of themselves thirteen comburgesses of the more 
creditable sort of men, being burgesses of the town or borough afore- 
said, one of which burgesses always is to be chosen for the mayor of 
the town or borough aforesaid, and to remain mayor of that town or 
borough for one whole year after his election. Which Comburgesses 
in deed thus being elected in the oflRice of comburgesses of the town or 
borough aforesaid, during their natural life may remain and continue, 
and each of them may remain and continue, unless they or any of 
them at their own special request to be made to the maj'or and the 
rest of the comburgesses of that mayor of the town or borough afore- 
said for the time being, or for any substantial reason, have or hath 
from those combui-gesses by the mayor of the town or borough afore- 
said, and the rest of the comburgesses of that town or borough for the 
time being, been removed. 

And that upon the death of such comburgesses or otherwise upon 
his resignation or removal from the office of a comburgess, the mayor 
. for the time being, and the comburgesses of the to^vn or borough 
aforesaid, and their heirs and successors for ever, may have full power 
and authority by virtue of these presents to chuse one other burgess 
out of themselves for a comburgess of the town or borough aforesaid, 
in the place of that comburgess so dj^ing, resigning, or being removed, 
and so from time to time for ever. And further we have granted, and 
by these presents do grant, for us and our heirs, to the aforesaid present 
ma^'or and comburgesses and their heirs and successors, that the said 
present mayor and comburgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, 
,^nd their heirs and siicce'ssors for the time being, from yeai- to year, 
at their pleasure, may chuse out of the burgesses of the town or 
borough aforesaid, two Serjeants daily to bring or carry the mace, with 
the arms of us and our heirs engraved thereupon, before the aforesaid 
mayor and other mayors of the said town or borough aforesaid, for the 
time being, and to do and execute all and singular precepts and man- 
dates which by the aforesaid mayor, for the time being, shaU fi'om 
time to time be commanded them, or either of them. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 23 

And moreover, we grant to the said mayor and burgesses and their 
successors, that they by their serjeant at mace, may have power and 
authority to attach and arrest whatsoever men and women less suffi- 
cient (or that are proper objects) by their bodies in whatsoever pleas, 
plaints, contracts and demands, or in other actions personal, real, or 
mixt whatsoever within the town or borough aforesaid, and the pre- 
cinct thereof in any manner whatsoever accruing or arising, and 
which in any manner have been or shall happen to be depending for 
the time to come. 

Moreover, we have granted to them, the said mayor and bur- 
gesses, that they and their successors may have in the said town or 
borough, power and authority, jurisdiction and liberty, to perform and 
execute all and singular things which to the office of a coroner there 
appertain, to be performed and executed as the rest of the coroners of 
us and our heirs in other places have had, and shall happen to have 
for the time to come, so that at no future time, any coroner of our 
said kingdom of England, (save the mayor of the town or borough 
aforesaid, for the time being) within the said town or borough and the 
precinct thereof may enter ; Neither that any sheriff, eschaetor, 
steward, feodary, or minister of us or our heirs, may enter the town 
or borough aforesaid, or the precincts thereof, there to perform or 
execute any office, but only in default of the mayor himself: and that 
the said mayor thus elected, or to be elected, by his comburgesses 
aforesaid, immediately after this his election before his said combur- 
gesses in the mote-hall aforesaid, shall take his solemn corporal oath 
as well duly and truly to perform and execute the office of a mayor as 
the office of a coroner. 

And if a mayor of this borough so elected in manner above, 
within the year after his election, shall happen to die, or shall for his 
bad administration of the town or borough aforesaid, or for any offence, 
or for some reason hath been by some means or other deprived of or 
removed from the office of mayor ; Then the comburgesses aforesaid, 
and their successors may chuse and appoint, within eight days next 
after such departure, discharge or removal, out of themselves one other 
comburgess for the mayor of the town or borough aforesaid, in the 
place of that mayor so declining, discarded or removed, for the re- 
mainder of that year, to rule and govern the. said town or borough, 
who in like manner shall take the oath as above prescribed. 

And we will and command that no out-dweller, or foreigner 
dwelling without the town or borough and precincts thereof, by virtue 
or colour of a burgess, for that because he is a burgess there, be not, 
neither may he be chosen a mayor of the said town or borough, in 
times to come, upon any account whatsoever. 



24 ' HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

And likewise out of our special grace, we have granted, and f y 
these presents do grant, to the aforesaid mayor and burgesseo and 
their successors, that the said mayor and his successors, he jus- 
tices and keepers of our peace, to he kept within the said towni ijr 
1 ion mgh aforesaid. And that the said mayor and his successors m\y 
Jiave for ever authority and power mthin the said town or boroui<]., ta 
] -reserve the j^eace as other justices and conservators t^f ^ur peace i^ 
t]\is bd'.alf, I'ave in anj' county of our kingdom of England. 

MouEOVER, we will and grant for us and our heirs and successors 
to them, the present mayt»r and I'urgesses, t]\at the said presen.t mayor 
and his successors, ma^'ors of the to\ra or borough aforesaid, iiiay 
have for ever the superintendency, correction and punishment of tlie 
assize of bread and ale, and of all other victuals whatsoever, from time 
to time within the borough aforesaid, X)recincts or liberties thereof, 
sold or to be sold, as to them shall seem convenient and necessary in 
times to come. And that the sai»l mayor and burgesses and their 
successors may have a common seal, for measures and weights of 
every kind to be sealed therewith, within the said town or borough, pre- 
cincts and limits thereof, so that the clerk of our market, either upon 
search or examination of measures and weights within the said town 
or borough, and precincts and limits, or for any other cause, may n«t 
upon any account introduce any other seal than this, though heretofore 
made use of, under a very heavj'- penalty. 

Moreover, out of our special grace, we will and grant, for us 
and our heirs, for ever, to the said mayor and comburgesses, and their 
successors, that the said present mayor and comburgesses of the town 
or borough aforesaid, for the time being, when instituted in the office 
of mayor and comburgesses, may have power aad authority to call 
together, convene and embody all and singular, Our lieges of the said 
town or borough, of whatsoever degree or condition they be, and those 
who to them appear the mvire likely, and that they cause them and 
every of them according to his degree, well and sufficiently to be armed 
and accoutred, and that they and every of them armed and accoutred in 
this manner, to be kept and held daj' and night to watch and search 
\idthin the said town or borrtugh, X'vecincts or liberties thereof, for the 
safeguard, preservation, and defence of the said town or borough. 

And also, out of our abundant grace and mere motion, wc have 
granted to them the mayor and bm-gesses and their successors, that 
they for ever may have the return of all our ^\Tits and summonses of 
our exchequer, and of our heirs, and the execution of them And that 
neither the said mnyor nor burgesses and their successors, nor any of 
them may plead or be impleaded before us or any of our justices, oi' of 
our heirs, without the towii or b.. rotigh aforesaid, cancerniuf' laadc- luid 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 25 

tehements lying within the same town or horough, nor of trespasses, 
agreements or contracts made in the said town or borough, or concern- 
ing any other things whatsoever there arising. But all pleas of this 
kind which may happen to be by summons or attachment before us, 
our justices, or our heirs, or before any of our justices or of our heirs, 
of the bench or elsewhere without the town or borough, are to be 
impleaded before the mayor of the said town or borough for the time 
being, and within the said town or borough they shall be pleaded and 
determined, unless the matter itself affect us and our heirs, or the 
community of the said town or borough. 

And that the said mayor of the town or borough aforesaid, for 
the time being, nor any of the comburgesses aforesaid, or their suc- 
cessors, may be appointed or assigned a manager, searcher or collector 
of any customs, taxes, tributes, dues, subsidies, dues for knights' ser- 
vice, tenths, fifteenths, or any Gther taxes whatsoever, to be granted 
in any manner whatsoever to us or to our heirs, without the town or 
borough aforesaid. Also willing and granting to them the present 
maj'or and burgesses, that neither they nor their heirs or successors, or 
any of them, in time to come, may be a bailiff, constable, headborough, 
or other officer or minister whatsoever, of us, our heirs, without the 
town or borough aforesaid, against their own inclination. And that 
neither they nor any of them may be forced or compelled to undertake 
any charge of the offices aforesaid, upon any account whatsoever, 
without the town or borough aforesaid. 

And that neither the aforesaid mayor and burgesses, nor their 
successors, may be impanelled upon juries, at the assizes, or upon any 
inquisitions, by reason of their tenements without the borough, or upon 
an}^ other juries whatsoever, which upon account of their tenements or 
trespasses, or any of their other foreign concerns, service is required 
before our justices or other ministers, or of our heirs, to be done, which 
will occasion disorder in the said town or borough. And all foreigners- 
may not be impanelled with our burgesses upon juries of assize, or 
upon inqiiisitions, which by reason of their lands and tenements being 
in the said town or borough, or of trespasses, contracts, or their other 
foreign businesses, service is required to be done. 

And further, out of our abundant grace, we have granted, and 
by these presents do grant and confirm, to them, the said mayor and 
burgesses, that they and their successors be our justices for the peace, 
and for felonies, trespasses and other misdemeanors whatsoever. And 
that as justices for the peace within the tov/n and borough and pre- 
cincts and liberties thereof, together with one learned in the law, at 
the appointment of the may()r of that town or borough for tlie time- 

E 



26 HF STORY OF PONTEFRAC7. 

^eing, they may hold from time to time by mandate or warrant, to be 
made by the mayor of the said town or borough for the time being", 
and unto one of the Serjeants at mace of the mayor of the said town or 
borough for the time being, to be directed or made sessions', to in- 
quire for us and our heirs, as often as shall be necessary. 

And that the said mayor and burgesses, and their successors, may 
have a gallows and a proper prison or gaol within the said town or 
borough of Pontefract aforesaid, and the precincts and limits thereof, 
for felons and other offenders whatsoever, within the town or borough 
and precincts and limits aforesaid, taken or to be taken in the said 
prison or gaol, safely and securely to be kept, until from the same, 
according to the law and custom of our kingdom of England, they 
shall be discharged. And that the seijeant at mace, so appointed 
■within the town or borough aforesaid, for the time being, all precepts- 
and warrants of the sessionses so held, in all things may do and exe- 
eiite, or the one of them may do and execute, and they and the one of 
them may attend upon the said justices in their sessions for inquisi- 
tions, and other things whatsoever in the premises to be taken or done^ 
and the execution of judgments and mandates, of them the said jus- 
tices in all things may execute and do, or the one of them may execute 
and do as fully and effectually as the sheriff of our county of York, 
and other our sheriffs, justices in this behalf elsewhere, in our king- 
dom of England, ought to attend and the precepts and warrants, ought 
or should execute or order to be executed ; So that no sheriff of our 
said county of York, for the time being, may in any manner enter for 
the execution of these kind of precepts and warrants of the said justi- 
ces, within the town or borough, precincts and liberties aforesaid, 
neither may he in any manner enter the said town or borough, upoix 
this or upon account of any of the premises. 

Ani> ALSOy we will and have granted, that the said mayor and: 
comburgessesof the town or borough of Pontefract aforesaid, for the 
time being,, tsvelve, eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four^ 
three or two, of them, together with the mayor of the towTi or borough, 
aforesaid, and. one skilled ia the law, maj' have full correction, punish- 
ment, power and authority, to- take cognizance of, and inquire, hear 
^id determine aU matters and things, as well touching all felonies, 
trespasses, nadsprisons and extortions, as of all and all manner of 
other causes, complaints and offences, whatsoever, within the same 
town or borough, and liberty, and precincts and limits thereof, how- 
soever happerung or arising, so fully and effectually keeping of the 
peace and justiees. assigned, and to be assigned to hear and deter- 
mine felonies, trespasses, and other misdemeanors, and justices of 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 27 

servants, labourers, artificers, within our county of York, without the 
town or borough, liberty and precincts aforesaid, have or shall in any 
manner have for the time to come. 

Provided always, that the said mayor of the town or borough 
aforesaid, for the time being, be constrained either by himself or by his 
deputy or their deputies, yearly to collect or cause to be collected, as 
well the rents of our town or borough aforesaid, as the rents called 
Castle-Farm, Andrew-Farm, and Plowland-Farm, with the tolls of the 
Windmill, eschaets and other profits whatsoever, to us belonging. And 
further — Whereas, forty-nine pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence 
only have been used to be paid to us and our predecessors, out of the 
profits of the farms aforesaid, and now lately we have been informed, 
that fifteen pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence thereof, out of 
certain profits of the farms aforesaid, within the piecincts of the 
town or borough aforesaid, cannot be levied because of the downfall 
and total ruin of divers tenements. Know ye, that v/e out of our 
abundant grace, mere motion and certain knowledge for the battering 
of our said town or borough, do acquit, release and discharge by these 
presents to the said mayor and burgesses, and their successors for 
ever, the sum of fifteen pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence due to 
us annually; So that the said maj'or and burgesses and their succes- 
sors of the town or borough of Pontefract aforesaid, who «i ay happen 
to be in time to come, are bound to answer and pay to us and our heira 
for ever, out of the profits of the farms, the sum of thirty-iaur pounds 
and no more. And that neither we, nor our heirs have any right to 
the aforesaid fifteen pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence, nor any 
part thereof shall for the time to come, exact or claim. 

And moreover, we have granted and do grant, and by these pre- 
sents confirm to the said mayor and burgesses of the town or borough 
of Pontefract aforesaid, that they and their successors may have within 
the town or borough aforesaid, one market to be held there on 
every seventh day for ever, on every Saturday ; and yearly two fairs 
there, to wit: — the one fair of them upon Palm Sunday in Quadrages- 
sima, and to continue for six days next preceding ; and the other fair 
thereof upon the feast and Lord's day of the holy and undivided Trinity, 
and to continue for six days next preceding, together with all liberties, 
rights, privileges, and appurtenances of these^fairs and markets, or 
any of them belonging. So that these fairs and markets be not to the 
detriment of other neighbouring fairs and markets. 

And also, we will and grant for us and our heirs aforesaid, and 
fey these presents confirm to the aforesaid mayor and burgesses of the 
town or borough aforesaid, and their successors for ever, that thej 



28 HISTORY OF. PONTEFRAGT. 

may have by the mayor of the said town or borough for the time 
being, and two or three of the more creditable and discreet combur- 
gesses of the said town or borough, assistants to the said mayor, they 
being for this purpose yearly elected or deputed by the said mayor, 
for the time being ; the management, ordering, and appointment of 
the stalls and booths in all these fairs and markets or any of them to be 
had or placed, and the whole direction of the markets, fairs, and all and 
singular liberties, and other usages to the said markets and fairs be- 
longing, without the hindrance or disturbance of us, or our heirs, or 
of other our officers whatsoever. Therefore, we will, and strictly 
order and command the aforesaid mayor and burgesses for the tim^ 
being, that none of our lieges for the future coming into the said 
town or borough, to the markets or fairs (save only in the fairs above 
specified) be bound or constrained to pay any toll or other duty to the 
said mayor and burgesses for our, or their use. But that all, and 
singular our subjects in this manner for the time to come, resorting 
together by reason of our grant aforesaid^ be therefore free, immo- 
lested and exonerated for ever. 

And moreover, We will and grant, and by these presents have 
granted for us and our heirs to the aforesaid mayor and burgesses and 
their successors, that the said mayor for the time being, together with 
twelve of the better sort of men of the said town or borough of Ponte- 
fraet, and the precincts thereof, for the time being by the said mayor 
to be nominated, ^vith others of the burgesses aforesaid, and by them 
the mayor and better sort of men convened, if they are so pleased in 
the mote-hall of the town or borough aforesaid, as often as they please 
to meet together, and laws, rules, and ordinances legal and beneficial 
for the public good of the town or borough aforesaid, and the precincts 
thereof from time to time, to ordain and make, and those in their wise 
and prudent government use, and, in the said town or borough, and 
the precincts thereof put in execution. Also, that they may for ever 
revoke and alter them, and everj' of them, as to themselves it shall 
seem the more expedient. 

And further, out of our abundant grace, we will, and grant, and 
by these presents confirm for us and our heii-s, that the said mayor and 
burgesses, and their successors may have, and peaceably enjoy all their 
liberties and customs by them the burgesses and their successors with- 
in the town or borough of Pontefract aforesaid, anciently enjoyed. And 
that the burgesses aforesaid, and their successors, and all the inhabitants 
within the said town or borough, shall be exempted from toll, murage, 
passage, pannage, pontage, and sedage, through our whole kingdom 
of England, and our dominion for ever. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 29 

Wherefore, We, will, and strictly command for us and our heirs, 
that the aforesaid mayor and burgesses of the town or borough afore- 
S£|,id, and their successors may have, hold and use, all and singular, 
the powers of hearing and judging causes, franchises, regulations, 
liberties, immunities and privileges, and all other the premises as 
above specified, and that them and every of them, they may fully, 
freely, entirely, peaceably, and quietly occupy and enjoy without the 
the let, interruption, molestation, or obstruction of us, or our heirs, of 
any of our officers or ministers, or of our heirs whatsoever, as is above- 
mentioned, in the manner and form above-declared. In witness 
whereof, we have caused these our letters to be made patent. — Given 
under our seal, of our Duchy of Lancaster, the twenty-eighth day of 
July, in the second year of our reign. 

By THOMAS METCALF, Chancellor. 

On the ninth day of August in the year following, Richard granted 
to the inhabitants another charter ; whereby he confirmed to them all 
their liberties, franchises and immunities contained in his former 
charter. 

CONFIRMATION CHARTER OF RICHARD III. 

(endorsed in original No. 5.) 

This charter was couched in the words of the former one, and 
closed thus : — " Witnesses, these very venerable persons, Thomas of 
Canterbury, Primate of England ; Thomas of York Archbishop ; John 
of Lincoln, our Chancellor ; Richard of Bath and Wells, and Thomas 
of London, bishops ; and our dearest cousins John of Suffolk, and 
John of Norfolk, marshall of England, dukes ; and Henry Percy, 
Earl of Northumberland, chamberlain of England ; and our be- 
loved suTjjects Francis, Sheriff of London, our chamberlain ; Tho- 
mas Stanley, of Stanley, constable of England ; John Wade, trea- 
surer of England, knights ; and our beloved clerk John Gunthorpe, 
keeper of our privy seal, and others.* — Given by our hand at West- 
minster, the ninth day of August in the second year of our reign, 

CURTEIS. 
By writ qf privy seal, the day aforesaid. — By authority of Parliament, 

Richard most probably granted these charters, in order to at- 
tach the burgesses of Pontefract still more closely to his interests, 
for he perceived that cloud lowering, which ultimately burst with 
all its fury upon his devoted head. During that period, and when the 
fata.1 contentions subsisted between the houses of York and Lancaster, 

* At the execution of charters, deeds, &c. it was customary that the witnesses should 
be called into the presence of the grantor; and instead of attesting the documents 
by their sign manual, as in the modem way, their names were inserted at the foot of the 
charters, as above, 



so HlfrORY OF PONTKFRACt. 

the burgesses took so active a part in the war, that they were grfeatly 
reduced in circumstances, and were consequently rendered incapable of 
sending members to the senate house, until the 18th year of the reign of 
James 1. ; when George Skillet and Edmund Sandys, jun. were returned 
without an opposition. Glanville, however, states, ' that Pontefract 
discontinued being a parliamentary borough from the time of king 
Edward I.,' and ' that by reason of the long discontinuance of the 
borough, there did not appear any known usage or prescription, 
by whom the election should be made.'* 

The English kings generally renewed the charters of their pro- 
genitors, in order to raise monies for the granting of new ones. Hen- 
ry VII. resorted to this custom when he granted to the inhabitants his 
charter, dated the first day of July, in the fourth year of his reign ; 
as it was couched in the same style and language, as that of Richard III. 

CHARTER OF HENRY VII. 

(endorsed in original. No. 6.J 

HENRY, by the grace of God, king of England and France, and 
lord of Ireland, and duke of Lancaster; To the Archbishops, &c. &c. 
(he7'e it includes the charter of Richard III., and thus closes :) In wit- 
ness whereof we have caused these our letters to be made patent. 
Given at London, under our seal, of our dutchy of Lancaster, the first 
day of December, in the fourth year of our reign. 

In the 10th and 11th years of his reign, writs were issued to 
the mayor for the election of the representatives to parliament, 
when an answer was returned, stating, * that through the extreme 
poverty of the borough, they were unable to elect them.' 

Henry ordained that the mayor should be chosen by the bur- 
gesses, who should publicly declare their votes in the mote-hall ;i* 
but this mode of election became the source of much strife and 
animosity, and factious parties rent the borough with contentions. 

Edward VI., in the fourth year of his reign, granted a charter 
to the inhabitants, confirming to them their ancient rights and privi- 
leges. The reign of this prince, though short, may truly be said to be 
of as much importance in the annals of England, as that of any of his 
progenitors. He was accounted the wonder of his time, for although he 
died in the 16th year of his age, yet he was not only learned in the 
tongues and the liberal sciences, but knew well the state of his kingdom. 
He took special care of the petitions, that were given him by poor and 
oppressed people. But his zeal for religion crowned all the rest : — it 

* Tetlow's History of Pontefract, p. 41. 
t Moot-hall or Mote-hall, is derived from the Sax. MotJveal : i. e. a place where 
cases of justice are treated of; from the word motian in that tongue, signifying to halt- 
die. — Gent's Historia Compendiosa Romana, ii. 41. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 31 

was not an angry heat about it that actuated him, but a true tenderness 
of conscience founded on the love of God and his neighbour. These 
extraordinar)^ qualities, set off with great sweetness and affability made 
him universally beloved by his people * The charter of this noble 
prince, dated on the fifth of May, was as follows : — ■ 

CHARTER OF EDWARD VI. 

(endorsed in original, No, 9.) 

EDWARD VI., by the grace of God, of England, France and Ire- 
land, king, defender of the faith, &c. upon earth, the supreme head of 
the English and Irish church. To all persons to whom these presents 
shall come, Greeting, 

We, have seen letters patent of his majesty Henry VII. late King 
of England, our progenitor, made in these words " Henry by the grace 
of God, &c. &c." (here follows the charter of Henry.) 

In witness whereof, we have caused these our letters to be made 
patent. Witness ourself at Westminster, the twenty-eighth day of 
November, in the fourth year of our reign. 

But we holding, firm and valid, the aforesaid letters patent, and 
all aiid singular the things in them contained, do, as much as lies in our 
power, for us and our heirs, accept and approve of the same. And we 
do ratify and confirm the same to our beloved Allen Eyre, the present 
mayor ; and, to the burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, as the 
letters aforesaid reasonably ratify. In v»^itness whereof, we have made 
these our letters patent. Witness ourself at Westminster, the fiftb 
day of May, in the fourth year of our reign, 

BURRIT. 
(for twenty -one shillings jjaid in the Hanaper.J 

Examined by us, Richard Rede, &c. -» 

William Grymstead, J Klerks. 

For Fine, thirty shillings. R. Rydge, Clerk. 

To preserve unanimity and peace, was the chief aim in the admin-- 
istration of James I, although it is stated that England never flourished 
less than under his government. The election of a mayor for this 
borough, which had been the cause of incessant animosity amongst 
the inhabitants, was regulated by this prince, in the fourth year of his 
reign. His charter was dated on the second day of March; in the year 
1605, and was couched in the following words :— 

* Burnet, 



32 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

CHARTER OF JAMES THE FIRST. 

(endorsed in original^ No, 10.) 

JAMES, by the grace of God, of England, Scotland, France and 
Ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c., To all persons, to whon> 
these letters patent shall come, Greeting, 

Whereas, his Majesty, Henry VII. late king of England, by his 
letters patent under the seal of his Dutchy of Lancaster, made, bearing 
date the first day of December, in the fourth year of his reign, granted 
(amongst other things) to the then mayor and burgesses of the town 
or borough of Pontefract, and to their heirs and successors for ever j 
that the said then present mayor and burgesses, and their heirs and 
successors, mayor and burgesses, upon the feast of St. Michael the 
Archangel, then next ensuing, the date of those said letters patent, and 
afterwards fi*om year to 5^ear, upon the said feast day, amongst the said 
burgesses, in a certain hall, called the Mote-Hall, might chuse out of 
themselves thirteen comburgesses of the more reputable sort of men, 
burgesses of the town or borough of aforesaid, one of which burgesses 
always then should be chosen for the mayor of the town or borough 
aforesaid, and remain mayor of the town or borough aforesaid, for one 
year next following such election, as by the said letters patent, may 
and doth more fully appear. 

And whereas, we are credibly informed, that the election of the 
mayor of the town or borough aforesaid, heretofore, hath been made 
by the greater number of votes and sufFi-ages of the burgesses of the 
said town or borough, by reason of which sort of form and manner of 
election, infinite contentions, animosities and disputes have arisen, and 
been propogated betwixt the mayor, comburgesses, and burgesses of 
the town or borough aforesaid, for, and in respect of the suffrages and 
votes given in the election of the mayor of the said town or borough, 
by means Vvhereof, very often great hatred, revenge and resentments, 
and many other evils have ensued to the disturbance of our peace, and 
exceeding bad example of others. 

Know ve, therefore, that we, in order, that all animosity, conten- 
tion, and quarrelling about the election of the mayor of the to^^^l or 
borough aforesaid, may from henceforth be entirely removed, and that 
peace and good neighbourhood betwixt the mayor and burgesses of the 
town or borough aforesaid, may revive, and increase ; and also at the 
humble request of the present mayor and burgesses of the town or 
borough aforesaid, — Have willed and granted, and by these presents, 
for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid ma3'or and 
burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, and to their successors ; 
that the election of the mayor of the said town or borough, in every 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT> 33 

year, and from year to year, for the time to come, for ever, must and 
shall be upon the feast day of Holy Rood, that is to say, in and 
upon the fourteenth day of September, in the manner and form, in 
these presents under-mentioned and prescribed. 

And that the person who as aforesaid, shall so be elected and ap- 
pointed mayor of the town or borough aforesaid, shall take his corporal 
oath before the late mayor, his predecessor and the comburgesses 
and burgesses of the said town or borough, or as many of them who at 
that time shall be present, in and upon the feast of St. Michael the 
arch-angel, then next following, such his election and nomination 
aforesaid, well and truly to execute and discharge the office of mayor, 
of the town or borough aforesaid, in all those duties relating or apper- 
taining to the same. 

And that after his so taking the aforesaid oath, he must, and may 
be enabled to execute the office of mayor of the town or borough 
aforesaid, for one whole year, then next ensuing. And to the intent, 
that the aforesaid election may be without any contention and malice 
in any shape, — We will and by these presents for us, our heirs and 
successors do grant to the aforesaid mayor and burgesses of the town 
or borough aforesaid, and to their successors : that in the above said 
time of election, every mayor of the town or borough aforesaid, for the 
time to come, every burgess of the town or borough aforesaid (except 
the comburgesses of the said town or borough) shall write himself or 
cause to be written upon a small piece or scroll of paper in English his 
suffrage and vote, and the said scroll of paper, together with the said 
suffrage and vote inscribed thereupon, shall be put into a certain bag or 
box for this kind of business to be provided, by the mayor and burges- 
ses of the town or borough aforesaid. Which said scroll of paper, indeed 
shall not contain the name of that person giving his vote and suffrage, 
but the inscription thereupon shall be in the manner and form follow- 
ing, that is to say, ' on the fourteenth day of Se2demher, in the year of 
our Lord, 8fc. such a person is elected mayor of this town or borough, ' 
and that always the day and year, and name of the person so to be 
appointed mayor as aforesaid, must be named and specified there- 
upon. 

And if it shall happen that the number of votes and suffrages, so as 
aforesaid to be written upon the small scrolls of paper, be even and 
equal, that then three of the senior comburges'Ses who then shall be 
present, shall join and subscribe their suffrages and votes in like man- 
ner, upon a scroll of paper, and shall put the same into the aforesaid 
bag or box. And that from time to time, for ever, every pei'son for 
whom the most votes shall be given in the manner and form aforesaid, 

F 



34 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



may upon his taking a corporal oath, to discharge the ofl&ce of mayor 
of the town or borough aforesaid, and all other things thereunto be- 
longing or appertaining, upon the feast of St. Michael the archangel, 
next following such election and appointment, of every such person to 
tlie office of mayor aforesaid, in the presence of the mayor for the time 
being, and comburgesses and burgesses of the town or borough afore- 
said, or so many of them who shall please to be present (one of which, 
we order the aforesaid mayor to be) . before that he undertakes the 
office of mayor of the town or borough aforesaid, have, execute and 
perform the same for one whole year, then next following the afore- 
said feast of St. Michael the archangel, upon which, so as aforesaid, 
he shall be sworn into the said office of mayor of the town or borough 
aforesaid, (the aforesaid letters patent abovementioned, or any other 
letters patent whatsoever, or any other matter, cause, or thing what- 
soever, to the contrary thereof, in any wise notwithstanding) . 

And we order that the aforesaid scrolls of paper thus inscribed, 
only shall be inspected, and the votes thereupon inscribed, only shall be 
read by the three senior comburgesses of the town or borough aforesaid 
who at such election there shall be present. And that after every such 
election In the manner aforesaid, to be fully complete and perfected, the 
said scrolls of paper so as above-mentioned, to be put into the said bag 
or box immediately, shall be burnt by the thi*ee senior comburgesses 
of the town or borough aforesaidi 

And whereas, the said late king Henry VII. by his said letters, 
patent above-mentioned, granted to the aforesaid mayor and burgesses 
and their successors, that they, by their Serjeants at mace, should have 
power and authority to attach, and arrest aU men and women whatso- 
ever, less sufficient (or proper objects) by their bodies, in all manner 
of pleas, plaints, contracts, and demands, or other actions personal, real> 
or mixt wJiatsoever, within the town or borough aforesaid, and the 
precints thereof, in any manner however transacted or arising, which 
in any manner were commenced, or might fi'om thenceforth for the 
time to come, happen to be commejiced, as by the said letters patent 
(amongst other tilings) it may, and doth more fully appear. We out 
of our abundant special grace, and out of our certain knowledge, and 
mere motion, do will, and grant to the aforesaid mayor and burgesses 
of the town or borough aforesaid, and their successors by these pre- 
sents, that they, by their Serjeants at mace, may have, and shall have 
power and authority, as well to attach and arrest all men and women 
whatsoever, less sufficient (or proper objects) by their bodies to answer 
any person or persons complaining or to complain of, or concerning 
any actions, personal or mixt, in the court of tlie town or borough. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. S5 

aforesaid pleadable, as to take and execute any execution and execu- 
tions, of or concerning any goods and chattels, within the town or 
horough aforesaid, to be found, for a satisfaction of any debt or debts, 
xtr any sum of money, which in the court of the town or borough afore- 
said, shall from time to time, be duly recovered in any such actions or 
plaints, determinable in the court of the said town or borough. And 
in all, and singular such actions, to put into to force, and use all such 
processes, judgments aud executions, as by law and custom of this, our 
kingdom of England, in such like actions are used, and ought to be 
used, and that in as extensive a manner and form, as in any other our 
courts of record, in any other borough, city, or town, incorporated 
within this our kingdom of England, is used and accustomed, or ought, 
and can be done . 

And further, we will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs 
and successors, do grant to the aforesaid mayor and burgesses of the 
town or borough aforesaid, and their successors, that the mayor of the 
town or borough aforesaid, for the time being, or any other person or 
persons by him to be deputed for the time to come for ever, anay have 
full authority and power, by virtue of these presents, to have, ask, de- 
mand, take, receive and retain of every person or persons with every 
cart, Cin English) a wayne, cart or shodd, bound with iron (in English) 
called a bare, wayne or cart, or shodd, wayne or cart loaden, and in, 
through or beyond the streets of the town or borough aforesaid, or in, 
through or beyond any passage or v/ay, within the liberty or precincts 
of the said town or borough, coming or passing, one penny ; and for 
every cart (in English) called a bare wayne, cart, or a shodd 
cart, one halfpenny of lawful money of England, for, and towards the 
repair and support of the ways, pavements, passages, and other places 
within the borough aforesaid, and the precincts thoreof, to be applied 
according to the discretion of the mayor, and comburgesses of the 
town or borough aforesaid, for the time being ; and these our letters 
patent, or enrolment thereof, shall be from time to time, as well to the 
aforesaid mayor for the time being, as to all such persons by him as 
aforesaid to be deputed, a sufficient warrant, and discharge in that 
respect. 

And further, we will, and by these presents for us, our heira 
and successors do grant, give, ratify, confirm, and allow unto the said 
mayor and burgesses of the town or borough' aforesaid, and to their 
successors, all and all manner of liberties, franchises, immunities, ex- 
emptions, privileges, relinquishments and jurisdictions, which the 
mayor and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, now have, 
observe, use and enjoy, or which any of them or their predecessors by 



36 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

whatsoever name or names, or by whatsoever incorporation, or upon 
account of any manner of incorporation whatsoever, heretofore, have, 
had, used, or enjoyed, or ought to have, hold, use, or enjoy by here- 
ditary descent, by reason, or in pursuance of any charters, or letters 
patent, by any of our progenitors or ancestors, late kings or queens 
of England, in any manner heretofore, made, confirmed, or granted, 
or by reason of any other lawful means, right, title, custom, use, or 
prescription, heretofore lawfully used, had, or accustomed, although 
the same, every, or any of them heretofore, have or hath not been 
used, misused, or wrongfully applied, or have, or hath been discon- 
tinued, and although the same, every, or any of them, are or have been 
forfeited, or extinguished ; — To have, hold, and enjoy the same unto 
the aforesaid mayor and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, 
and to their successors for ever. And therefore. 

Yielding and paying to us, our heirs and successors yearly, so 
many, so great, such like, the very same, and the same kind of rents, 
services, sums of money, and demands whatsoever, as many, as great, 
such as, and which heretofore they have used to yield and pay to us, 
for the same, or ought to yield and pay. Wherefore, we will, and by 
these presents, for us our heirs, and successors, do grant that the afore- 
said mayor burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, and their suc- 
cessors, may have, hold, use, and enjoy, and may be enabled and 
empowered, fully and eifeetually, to have, hold, use, and enjoy for ever 
all the liberties, freedoms, customs, privileges, authorities, jurisdic- 
tions, and exemptions aforesaid according to the tenor and true mean- 
ing of these, our letters patent, without the hinderance or obstruction 
of us, or of our heirs or successors whatsoever. Forbidding, that the 
said mayor and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, and their 
successors, or any of them, or any others, by reason of the premises, 
or any of them, may be therefore harassed, disturbed, vexed or dis- 
tressed, or in any manner molested by us, or our heirs or successors, 
or by our justices, sheriffs, eschaetors, or other bailiffs, feodaries, or 
other, our officers or ministers, or of our heirs and successors whatso- 
ever. Willing, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, 
commanding and enjoining, as well our treasurer, chancellor and 
barons of our exchequer, and of our heirs and successors, as our attor- 
ney and solicitor general for the time being, and every of them, and 
all others, our officers and ministers whatever, that neither they, nor any 
of them, nor any other persons may prosecute, or continue, or cause, or 
procure to be prosecuted or continued, any writ or summons, for which 
they have pur warrant, or any other writ or writs, or processes whatso- 
ever against them, the mayor and burgesses of the town or borough 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 37 

aforesaid, or any of them, or against any other persons, for any profits, 
matters or things, offences, claims, or customs, or for any of them due, 
claimed, challenged, vised, enjoyed, or had by prescription from them, 
or one of them, before the day of granting these presents. Willing 
also, that the mayor and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, 
or any of them, may not by any person, or any of the justices, officers, 
or ministers aforesaid, be in the least oppressed or encumbered, for, or 
in respect of any debt, profit, claim, enjoyment, or mis-user, of any of 
the liberties, franchises or jurisdictions, before the granting of these 
our letters patent, or that they may be compelled to answer for the 
same, or any of them. 

And whereas, there is within the town or borough of Pontefract 
aforesaid, a certain hospital anciently founded by a certain abbott of 
the monastery of St. Oswald, in the said county of York, called or 
known by the name of St. Nicholas' hospital, consisting of one reader 
and thirteen poor persons, at the most in the said hospital, to be from 
time to time maintained and relieved ; the election of which person, 
nomination, institution and appointment, by an indisputable right 
appertains and belongs to us, and to our heirs and successors, in the 
right of our crown of England, as we have undoubtedly, information 
touching the matter. 

And whereas, we are credibly informed, that as often as the 
place of the said reader, or any of the said thirteen poor persons of the 
aforesaid hospital, hath hitherto happened to become vacant by death, 
resignation, forfeiture. or removal, or by any other means, our auditors 
and receivers yearly travelling in those parts about our concerns, at the 
request and instigation of certain persons not burgesses or inhabitants 
of the town or borough aforesaid, have used to nominate, elect, and ap- 
point certain other persons, in the room of the aforesaid reader and 
poor persons so departing as above ; by reason of which election and 
appointment the poor and indigent persons of the town or borough 
aforesaid, have oftentimes been deprived and rendered destitute of the 
nourishment and relief which in the hospital aforesaid, they might and 
ought to have had, to the great detriment, oppression, and damage of 
the town or borough aforesaid. Know ye, that we, with an intent, that 
the mayor and burgesses, of the town or borough aforesaid, may the 
better bear and support the charges and expenses of the said town or 
borough, out of our special favour and certain' knowledge, and mere 
motion, and at the humble request and desire of the aforesaid mayor 
and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, in order that it may- 
be the better known to them who shall be the poorest and of honest 
demeanour, and the fittest for the aforesaid several places of -reader 



38 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

and -poor persons of the said hospital, out of our special favour and 
sure knowledge and mere motion, have willed and granted, and by 
these presents for us, our heirs and successors, do will, and grant to 
the aforesaid mayor and burgesses of the town or borough of Ponte- 
fract aforesaid, and to their successors, that whensoever it shall hap- 
pen for the future, that any person or persons of them the aforesaid 
reader and poor of the hospital aforesaid, depart this life, or for any 
reasonable cause be removed from their place or places ; (which reader 
indeed and poor persons of the hospital aforesaid, who now are, or 
hereafter shall be, in every or any of them for misbehaviour or any 
reasonable cause, we order to be removed and removable from their 
place or places, by the mayor and burgesses of the town or borough 
aforesaid to be done) then, arid so often, it may be well and shall be lawful 
for the mayor and comburgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, or 
for the greater part of them fof which we order the mayor of the town 
or borough aforesaid for the time being to be one) with our pennission, 
and for us, and in our name, to chuse, nominate, appoint and institute 
one other or many others out of the poor and indigent persons of the 
town or borough aforesaid, in the room or places of such reader 
or poor of the hospital aforesaid, so happening to die or to be removed, 
and that every person so afore^id, elected, nominated, appointed 
and instituted in the said hospital, shall be and remain during his 
natural life, unless, in the miean time, for his bad behaviour, or any 
other reasonable cause from the hospital aforesaid, he shall be re- 
moved J And in like manner, this must be done as often as occasion 
shall require, any act, statute, law, proviso, prescription, usage, or 
custom heretofore, to the contrary hereof, in any wise notwithstand- 
ing. Provided always, nevertheless, that this present grant, as 
to the election and the power of appointing them the said reader and 
poor persons in the hospital aforesaid, only shall remain and continue 
during the pleasure of us and our heirs and successors, and no longer, 
(any thing in these presents contained to the contrary thereof in any 
wise notwithstanding.) 

We will, also, and by these presents, do grant to the aforesaid 
mayor and burgesses of the tovm or borough, that they may have, and 
shall have, these our letters patent, under our great seal of England, in 
due form, made and sealed without fine, or great or small fee, in any 
manner, by reason thereof, to be yielded, paid, or rendered to us, in 
our hanaper, or elsewhere, for oui' use, so that express mention of the 
true annual value, or any other values, or a certainty of the premises, 
or any of them, or of any other gifts or grants heretofore, made by us, 
or by any of our ancestors or progenitors, to the aforesaid mayor and 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 39 

burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, is at the least ascertained 
in or upon these presents, (any statute, act, law, provisio, proclama- 
tion, or restriction to the contrary thereof, heretofore, had, made, 
published, enacted or provided, or any other matter, cause or thing 
whatsoever, in anywise notwithstanding). In witness whereof, we 
have made these our letters patent. Witness ourself at Westminster, 
the 2nd of day March, in the fourth year of our reign, of England, 
France and Ireland, and of Scotland the fortieth. 

By writ from the private seal, &c' 

TOPPIN. 

Enrolled as to St. Nicholas' Hospital aforesaid, in the office of Robt. 
Paddon, Esq. of the county aforesaid. 

By fFilliam Court, deputy secretary, thirty-first of October, 
Examined by Thomas Marten. 
Customary feasts are held on the day when the mayor is elected 
into office, as well as on the first sunday of his going to church, on the 
day of his investment with the royal robe, on his receiving the hospital 
monies, on the first sessions after his election, on Christmas day, 
and in the first week after Easter.* 

* When any gentleman is elected alderman, it is usual for him to invite the 
aldermen to take wine with him, and to give the ringers 5s. the waiths 6s. the mace- 
bearer 5s. the serjeant at mace 5s. the jailor 2s. 6d. and the town's clerk 10s. 6d.; and 
also to give invitations to the mayor and aldermen, recorder and town-clerk, to partake 
of a cold entertainment at his own house within two or three days after his election. 

Whbn an alderman is about to be elected mayor, which is alway on the four- 
teenth of September, (Holy-rood day,) it is usual for him to canvass the real burgesses 
for their votes, and to treat them with wine at the Serjeant's house, or where he may 
think fit ; and, after his election, it is customary for him to invite the out-going mayor, 
the aldermen, and other gentlemen, to take wine with him at his house. Nuts, apples, 
ginger-bread and spicecake are then thrown from his windows amongst the populace. 
The ringers also have five shillings given them on this occasion. 

When he is sworn in, which takes place on the 29th of September, (Michaelmas- 
Day,) his predecessor in office, makes a feast for the corporation, at his own 
house or elsewhere ; from whence they adjourn in the evening to a banquet prepared 
in the house of the newly elected mayor; but for some years past the two feasts have 
been each at a different time. ~- 

On the first Sunday in October, the mayor goes to church, and receives the sacra- 
ment; and the vicar, officiating clergy, acting churchwardens, clerk, sexton, and 
beadle, with a few of the aldermen, and town clerk, mace-bearer and serjeant at mace, 
dine with him on this day according to custom. 

On or about the 24th of October, the mayor receives from the king's receiver, the 
hospital money, amounting to AM. 5s. from which are the following deductions ; — for a 
debenter, 13s. Ad. for poundage, 21. Is. M. and for acquittance, 2s. ; on the receiving 
of the residue, 38Z. 8s. bd. the mayor provides a feast of red apples and nuts, presenting 
some for the duchy according to ancient usage. The above sum of 4H. 5s. has been 
augmented to 63^.78. — vide account of St. Nicholas' Hospital. — Act of Parliament. 

During the first sessions after his election, which generally happens about the 
end of October, his great feast is made at his own house, or where he may deem most 
proper ; to this feast are invited, the aldermen, recorder, town clerk, clergy, and 
other gentlemen, and military officers resident in the town. He also provides a dinner 
for each jury at other houses, paying to each body one gviinea, and two crown bowls of 
punch ; and he then visits each party, partaking of wine wit'h each. 

At the affearing day, which happens on the sessions first after his grand feast, 
the corporate body dine with him. 

On Christmas day, it is customary to invite the public officers of the town or 
borough to dine with him, and' on this day the constables attend him on his way from 
church, the waiths playing music and preceding the procession. 

In the first week after Easter is the sessions, when a large feast is made by him 
for the corporation and other gentlemen ; treating both juries, as on his grand feast- 
day.— Vide Book of Charters. 



40 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



SECTION III. 

Jr REVIOUSLY to the bursting of that thunderbolt of civil commotioEf 
which spread havoc in England, the corporate bodj^ of this place, aware 
of their incapability of maintaining the peace, elected sixteen bur- 
gesses to co-operate with them in the management of public affairs.* 

* The order to create sixteen burgesses, to treat on the affairs of the town : 
Villa \ An order, made by general consent, for appointing sixteen burgesses to join 
Ponfe^acti.j with the mayor and comburgesses in ordering the affairs of the town or 
borough of Pontefract aforesaid, in the mote-hall of the same town, the fifteenth day o? 
November, in the third year of the reign of our sovereign lord Charles, by the grace of 
God, king of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, defender of the faith, &,c. anno 
DOMINI, 1627. 

Whereas heretofore, the affairs of this borough of Pontefract have been seve- 
ral times treated upon, and that no good conclusion hath followed any such treaties, 
for that generally every inhabitant of the same town, hath been admitted to intermed- 
dle and deal in the said affairs, and for that, divers persons being refractory and ill 
affected to the state of the said borough, minding their own purposes and sinister 
ends, with oil t any respect at all to the public weal, or good government of the said 
borough, have opposed themselves against sundry good orders, exposed and shewed 
their adverseness in crossing, and to their pov.er of labouring to suppress the same so 
as for the present, neither the chapel nor church within this borough are repaired, but 
rather like to be totally ruined, nor the public weal of the said borough regained nor 
taken into such serious consideration as the present occasions do urgently require, nor 
the authority of the several charters and grants of the kings' majesties, noble progeni- 
tors, to us and our predecessors graciously granted, put in due execution according to the 
tenor thereof, neither any care taken for the preservation of such rights, revenues and 
other franchises, privileges, benevolence and large gifts and commodrties as do belong,, 
and have been given unto the borough, for the reformation therefore of the said abuses, 
we the maj-or and comburgesses of Pontefract aforesaid, whose names are subscribed 
having taken into serious consideration, the authority to us granted by the said churches 
and the weal public of this town and borough, and for avoiding such of the positions 
and hindrances in matters touching the common good, hereafter have called xipon us, 
and have nominated and appointed sixteen of the more sufficient burgesses of this 
town, whose names are likewise subscribed, and have, with the consent of them, and 
of the greater part of all the residue of the said burgesses and commonality of this bor- 
ough, enacted, constituted, and ordained that the said mayor and comburgesses, to- 
gether with the said sixteen burgesses shall have full power and authority to treat and 
conclude of and upon all matters and affairs touching and concerning the good estate, 
weal public and welfare of this borough, and that aU such things as shall be mutually 
agreed upon, concluded and set down, lay them or the greater part of them, for and on 
behalf of themselves, and of all the rest of the said inlrabitants, shall bind and con- 
clude both themselves, and all the residue of the same inhabitants. And that Mr, 
Mayor for the time being, shall have power to appoint days and times, convenient for 
meeting, touching the "said affairs, at which appointed time or times, the said sixteen, 
burgesses shall be then and there ready to assist Mr. Mayor upon notice given or left at 
their houses the evening next before, upon pain to forfeit everj- one, twelve pence, to 
be forthwith levied by distress, to the use of the common box, xinless such person or 
persons be sick, or else have some lawful excuse to be allowed by the said mayor, com- 
burgesses, and sixteen burgesses, or the greater part of them, for the time being, and 
that if any of the said comburgesses shall fail upon notice aforesaid, and not come at 
at such time and times appointed, that then the said comburgesses so failing shall in- 
cur such fines as shall be thought meet, and be assessed by the mayor and greater part 
of the comburgesses present, unless such, so absent, be letted by sickness, or have 
some lawful excuse to be allowed by the said mayor and burgesses, the said fine to be 
levied by way of distress. Also it is enacted, constituted, and ordained, that if any of 
the said sixteen burgesses shall resist, to be turbulent or refractory, or shall be opposite 
against anything tendingto the public weal and common good of "this borough of Ponte- 
fract, or if any of them shall die, then it shall and may be lawful to and for the said mayor 
and comburgesses, or the greater number of them for the time being, to call unto them 
one or more of the most substantial burgesses of the said boro\igh,"and to chuse, nomi- 
nate and appoint one more, as need shall require, to supply the place of him or them so 
dying, or being found refractory, disobedient, or opposite to the public good as aforesaid. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



41 



Nevertheless, whilst the siege of the fortress of Pontefract continued to 
rage with such fury, the tide of fanaticism overwhelmed the religion of 
the country, and the spirit of the people became too mighty for those 
restraints, which the regal power derived from the constitution. All 
privileges enjoyed by corporate bodies were totally disregarded, the 
authority invested in mayors superseded by military law, and in all 
instances of argumental contests, immediate decision was obtained at 
the point of the sword. The monarch of England was unfortunately 
guided by counsellors who were inferior to himself in knowledge and 
judgment, and generally considered as proud, impartial and inflexible 
men. The blood of royalty was fated to stain the axe of the executioner, 
and thus fell Charles a sacrifice to the most atrocious insolence of trea- 
son, in the forty-ninth year of his age. 

Charles II. in the twenty-ninth year of his reign, granted the fol- 
lowing charter, dated on the twentieth day of February, in the year 
1676, to the borough of Pontefract; whereby he confirmed all the 
rights, privileges and immunities of the corporate body, except the 
election of town clerk and recorder,* which he reserved for his own 
choice and that of his heirs and successors, investing the mayor 
with the power of only nominating them ; so that the town clerk and 
recorder was possessed of no authority to act, without the royal 
mandate. 



and that such person or persons so found refractory or disobedient, shall from hence- 
forth be removed and displaced, any thing aforesaid to the contrary notwithstanding. 
Also, it is further enacted, agreed and ordained, that if any burgess or inhabitant, within 
this town, shall refuse to come before Mr. Mayor, or the said comburgesses for the time 
being, he or they being therefore regviired by an officer sent by the mayor, that then 
Mr. Mayor may, and shall send an officer or serjeant with the great mace of the said 
borough, for any such person so refusing to come upon demand, and the said person or 
persons so refusing, shall thereupon pay to the mace-bearer towards his fee, for every 
default, twelve-pence, which if he refuse to pay, then to be committed to prison till he 
pay it. — In witness whereof, the said mayor and comburgesses have put the common 
seal of the said borough, the day and year first above written. 



Presenf.— RICHARD CLEMENT, Mayor. 



Comburgesses. 



John Skjpton 
William Tatham 
Peter Skipton 
John Eastwood 
Leonard Ward 
William Wilkinson 



Stephen Cowper 
William Gates 
Thomas Kitchin 
Maximilian Adams 
Edward Rusbie 
Robert More 



Robert Rally 
Brian Smith 
Peter Bramhall 
Jno. Tatham 
Jno. Stables 
Robert Wildman 
William Robinson 
Thomas Cattell 



Sixteen Burgesses. 



Matthias Hardwicke 
John Tatham, jun. 
Robert Frank 
JJicholas Stables 
William Craney 
Richard Skiptoti 
Abram Wilson 
John Blackburn 



* In the year 1696, Mr. Warren was chosen recorder, and received the royal man- 
date to act. On the twenty-tirst of January, l/Sfi, Richard Frank, of Campsall, Esq. 
was chosen recorder, and the election confirmed by royal order on the eighteenth of 
March, 1735—6. On the twenty-eighth May, 17()2, Joshua Wilson, of the middle 
temple, London, barrister at law, Esq. at the appointment of Wm. Perfect, then mayor, 
was chosen recorder, which choice was confirmed under the king's sign manual, dated 
the eighth of June in the same year; he died thirty-first of May, in the year 1797, and 
the right honorable Martin Bladen Hawke, lord Hawke, was chosen recorder at the no- 
mination of William Tomlinson, then mayor, and his nomination was confirmed by 
the king's royal signet, dated the fifth of October in the same year. Lord Hawke 
took his seat on the bench as recorder on Monday the tv/enty-third of October, 17^. 
Henry Taylor, of Pontefract, Esq. the present recorder, wa» ctioseft Oil tke twenty-first 
day of February, in the year 1814. 



^" 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT^ 



CHARTER OF CHARLES H. 

(endorsed in original. No. 1 1 .) 

CHARLES the second, by the grace of God, of England, Scotland^ 
France and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c. to all persons to 
whom these present letters shall come, greeting. 

Whereas, our town or borough of Pontefract is a very ancient and 
populous town or borough, and from ancient times hath been a towtt 
or borough incorporated, and the mayor and burgesses and the inhabi- 
tants thereof, and their predecessors hitherto, have, had, and enjoyed 
divers liberties, franchises, privileges and immunities of the gifts and 
grants of several of our progenitors and ancestors, late kings and 
queens of England. And whereas, our beloved subjects the present 
mayor and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, have most hum- 
bly besought us, that we, for the improving the condition of the said 
town or borough, and for the better government of the people and in- 
habitants of the same, would vouchsafe to ratify, allow and confirm all 
and singular the aforesaid grants, charters and letters patent of all, or 
of any of our progenitors and ancestors, to them the mayor and bur- 
gesses, or their predecessors, by any name or names of incorporation, 
made and granted, with the addition of the liberties, grants and privi- 
leges undermentioned. Now know ye, that we earnestly desiring the 
increase and amendment of the town or borough aforesaid, and the 
good state and government thereof as aforesaid, and being anxious 
that for the time to come for ever, one invariable and indispensable 
method and form in the said town or borough of Pontefract may 
be immediately had, for the preservation of the peace and for the good 
rule and government of the people there, and that our peace, and other 
acts of justice may be observed there, without further delay, out of 
our special grace and sure knowledge and mere motion, graciously 
promoting the welfare of them the mayor and burgesses of the town 
or borough aforesaid, do will and by these presents for us, our heirs 
and successors, do confirm to the aforesaid mayor and burgesses of the 
town or borough of Pontefract aforesaid, and to their successors, that 
the aforesaid town or borough, perambulations, precincts, limits, 
bounds, circumference, liberties, franchises, and jurisdictions, of the 
same, for the time to come for ever, do extend themselves, may stretch 
out and reach, and that they may be permitted and allowed, to extend 
themselves, stretch out and reach into, and by such like, the same, and 
the same kind of marks, bounds and limits, to which, and as hitherto 
they have used and ought to extend and reach. And that the town or 
borough aforesaid, for the future may be, and shall be a fi-ee town of 
itself. And that the burgesses of the said town and their successors for 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. -IS 

the future, for ever, may be, and shall be, by virtue of these presents 
a body corporate and politic, in reality, deed and name, by the name 
of the mayor and burgesses of the town or borough of Pontefract, and 
they, by the name of mayor and bui-gesses of the town of Pontefract, 
by these presents really and effectually for us, our heirs and successors, 
We appoint, make, ordain, constitute, confirm and declare a body cor- 
porate and politic in reality, deed, and name. And that by the same 
name they may have perpetual succession. And that they by the name 
of mayor and burgesses of the town or borough of Pontefract, may be 
and shall be, perpetual in future times, persons fit and capable in law, 
to have, purchase, take and enjoy lands, tenements, liberties, privile- 
ges, jurisdictions, franchises, and hereditaments of whatsoever kind, 
nature or quality they shall be, to them and their successors in fee, and 
in entail, and also other things whatsoever, of whatsover kind, nature 
or quality they shall be ; and to give, grant, release or assign lands, 
tenements and hereditaments, goods and chattels, and to do, and exe- 
cute, all and singular other acts and deeds by the name aforesaid. And 
that by the same name of mayor and burgesses of the town or borough 
aforesaid, they may be enabled and capacitated to plead and be implead- 
ed, answer and be answered, defend and be defended, in whatsoever 
courts, places and occasions, and before whatsoever judges and justices, 
and other our ministers and officers, and ©four heirs and successors in all 
jsuits, plaints, pleas, causes, matters and demands whatsoever, and of 
"whatsoever kind, nature or quality they be, in the same manner and 
form, as other our subjects of this our kingdom of England, persons fit 
and capable in law, might be enabled and capacitated to plead and be 
impleaded, answer and be answered, defend and be defended, and to 
have, purchase, take, enjoy, give, grant, and release. And that the 
mayor and burgesses of the town or borough of Pontefract aforesaid, 
and their successors may have, for ever, a common seal to be preserv- 
-ed for the dispatch of the causes and transactions whatsoever of them 
and their successors. And that it well may, and shall be lawful for 
them, the mayor and burgesses and their successors, such seal, at their 
pleasure from time to time, to break, charge, and renew, as to them it 
shall seem the more necessary, convenient and expedient. And fur- 
ther. We will and by these presents do grant to the aforesaid mayor 
and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, and their successors, 
that they by their Serjeants at mace, may have 'and shall have power 
and authority as well to attach and arrest whatsoever men and women, 
less sufficient (or proper objects) by their bodies or by their goods and 
chattels, or to take security, (in English to take bail) obligation or obli- 
gations by a bond or bonds, as by the sheriff of our county of York, it 



44 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT, 

Is practiced, to answer any person or persons complaining, or to com- 
plain of, or concerning any actions personal or mixt, in the court of the 
town or borough aforesaid, pleadable, as also to take and execute an 
execution or executions, of or concerning any goods and chattels, 
within the town or borough aforesaid, to be found, for a satisfaction of 
any debt or any debts, damage, costs, loss, or any sum of money which 
in the court of the town or borough aforesaid, in any such like actions 
or plaints determinable in the court of the said town or borough, shall 
from time to time be recovered, and in all singular, such like actions 
to use and execute all such processes, judgments and executions as by 
the law and custom of this our kingdom of England, in such like actions 
are used and ought to be used, and in so large a manner and form, as in 
any other courts of record in any other borough, city or town incor- 
porated, within this our kingdom of England, is used and accustomed 
or ought and can be done. Also we will, and by these presents for us, 
our heirs and successors, that the mayor of the town or borough afore- 
said, for the time being, and the clerk to be allowed and assigned for 
the acknowledgment of debts, according to the form of the statute of 
merchants, and of the statute lately made at Acton Burnell, and to be 
appointed in the manner and form in these presents under-mentioned 
and expressed, may have, for ever, full power and authority to take 
and receive \vhatsoever recognizances and executions thereupon to be 
made, according to the form of the statute of merchants, and the sta- 
tute lately made at Acton Burnell ; and to do and execute all other 
things within the town or borough aforesaid, which, by virtue of the 
said statutes or either of them, to any mayor or officer, and to any 
clerk or to any of them, in any city or borough incorporated, within 
this our kingdom of England, appointed for the taking recognizances 
duly according to the form of the statutes aforesaid, or either of them, 
do or may, or ought to appertain. And that the said mayor and clerk 
for the time being, may have, and shall have, and by these presents 
may make, use and apply one seal, consisting of two pieces, one 
part of which shall be the greater part, and the other part thereof 
shall be the lesser part, to seal the recognizances aforesaid, for 
the time to come to be acknowledged before them, according to the 
form of the statute of merchants aforesaid, and the statute lately made 
at Acton Burnell. Which seal indeed, shall be, and shall, from 
henceforth for ever, be called the king's seal, for sealing recognizances 
aforesaid to be acknowledged within the town or borough aforesaid. 
The greater part of which seal shall, indeed, always remain in the cus- 
tody of the mayor of the town or borough aforesaid, for the time being, 
and the other part of the said seal shall be, and shall for ever remain, 
in the hands and custody of the clerk; for the time being", deputed or 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT, 45 

appointed, according to these our letters patent, for the engrossing and 
enrolling the recognizances aforesaid. 

And that the common clerk of the town or horough for the time 
being, so long as he shall continue in that ofl&ce, may be, and shall be 
our, and our heirs' and successors' clerk, for the acknowledgment of 
debts, according to the form of the statutes aforesaid, or either of 
them, within the town or borough aforesaid, and the liberties, limits, 
and precincts thereof, to be taken, engrossed, and enrolled, and for 
the preserving and keeping the rolls, memoranda, and records of 
the same, and for keeping the lesser part of the seal aforesaid, and 
for the transacting and executing all other things, which to any clerk, 
appointed for the acknowledgment of debts, according to the form of 
the statutes aforesaid, or either of them, appertain to be done and 
performed. And for us, our heirs and successors, we make, ordain, 
and appoint by these presents, without any other writ, in that behalf 
to be obtained, and without any other election to be made, the said com- 
mon clerk of the town or borough aforesaid, our heirs' and successors* 
clerk, for the taking, engrossing, and enrolling the recognizances of 
debt within the town or borough aforesaid, according to the form of 
the statutes aforesaid, and either of them, and keeping the lesser part 
of the seal aforesaid ; and further, for the doing and performing all 
other things which to any clerk appointed for the acknowledgment 
of debts, according to the form of the statutes aforesaid, and either of 
them appertain to be done and performed. 

And whereas, by a certain inquisition taken by virtue of our 
mandate at Castleford, in ovir county of York, on the second day of 
September, now last past, certified into our chancery, and there re- 
maining on record, by the oath of honest and lawful men of the county 
aforesaid, it is assuredly found that it will not be to the damage or 
prejudice of us or others, or to the detriment of any neighbouring 
market or fair, if we should grant to the mayor and burgesses of the 
borough of Pontefract aforesaid, and their successors, that they and 
their successors might have and enjoy yearly for ever, two new mar- 
kets or fairs within the town or borough of Pontefract aforesaid ; one 
of which to be holden in, and upon Saturday next following the Thurs- 
day next before the feast of the purification of the blessed Virgin 
Mary, and the other upon the Saturday next following the Wednesday 
next after the feast of St. Hilary, and for those so many days to con- 
tinue for the buying and selling of all and all manner of beasts, cattle, 
and herds of cattle, wares and merchandizes, and for the taking to 
them and their successors, the tolls and profits in those kinds of mar- 
kets or fairs, accustomed as by the inquisition aforesaid it more fiilly 



46 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

appears. Now know ye, that we, that for divers good causes and 
considerations as hereunto specially mov^ing out of our special grace 
and sure knowledge and mere motion, have given and granted, and 
by these presents for us our heirs and successors, do give and grant to 
the aforesaid mayor and burgesses of the borough aforesaid, that they 
and their successors may have, hold and keep, and may be empowered 
and enabled to have, hold, and keep two new fairs or markets within 
the town or borough of Pontefract aforesaid, one of which said mar- 
kets or fairs is to be holden upon the Saturday next following the Wed- 
nesday next after the feast of St. Hilary, and the other upon the Satur- 
d^ next follpwing the Thursday next before the feast of the purifica- 
tipn of the bleesed Virgin Mary, in every year, for ever, and for those 
so many days to continue for the buying and selling of all and all 
manner of beasts, cattle, and herds of cattle, wares and merchandizes ; 
and separate coiirts of pyepowder at the times of the several said 
markets or fairs to be held respectively as aforesaid ; together wath 
all liberties and freedoms, tolls, duties, stallage, piccages, fines, amer- 
ciaments and all other profits, advantages, and emoltunents whatsoever 
to these sort of markets or fairs, and courts of pyepowder, or to any 
of them in any wise belonging, appertaining, accruing and arising, or 
with them. or any of them usually had or enjoyed, to have, hold, and 
enjoy the aforesaid markets or fairs, and other the premises aforesaid, to 
the aforesaid mayor and burgesses and their successors for ever, without 
an account or any other thing in that respect in any manner to be 
yielded, paid, or rendered to us, our heirs and successors. Wherefore 
we will, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, enjoin- 
ing, do strictly charge and command that the ma3'or and burgesses of 
the borough aforesaid, and their successors by virtue of these presents, 
may truly and freely, lawfully and quietly have, hold and keep, and 
may be enabled to have, hold and keep for ever, the several markets 
and fairs, and the rest of the premises aforesaid, according to the pur- 
port and true meaning of these our letters patent, without the moles- 
tation, interruption, or disturbance of us, om' heirs and successors 
whatsoever, or of any other persons whatsoever, and without any other 
warrant, writ, or process from us, our heirs and successors, for the 
future, in this respect to be had and procured. And further, out of 
our like special grace and sure knowledge, and mere motion, we have 
willed, granted, ratified and confirmed, and by these presents for us, 
our heirs and executors. We do, will, gi-ant and ratify, and confirm to 
the aforesaid mayor and burgesses of our town or borough of Ponte- 
fract aforesaid, and to their successors, all and all manner of liberties, 
free customs, franchises, and immunities, and exejnptions, renuncia- 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 47 

flons and jurisdictions of the town or borough aforesaid whatsoeverj 
and all and singular, so many, so great, such like, and of the very same 
kind, the very same manors, messuages, lands, tenements, rents, 
revenues, services, fairs, markets, courts of pyepowder, and other 
courts, returns, and executions of writs and processes, taxes, tolls, 
piccage, stallage, pontage, murage, fines, amerciaments, profits, com- 
modities, emoluments, and hereditaments whatsoever, as many as such 
like, and which the men and free burgesses of the town or borough 
aforesaid, by whatsoever name called, pr by whatsoever incorpai'ation 
incorporated, they now lawfully have, hold, enjoy or use, or as many, 
as so great, such like, or which they or any or them, or other pre4e- 
cessors, burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, by whatsoever 
name or names, or by whatsoever incorporation they have been known, 
or incorporated, or ought to have, hold, or enjoy, or use to them and 
their successors, by virtue of any charters or letters patent by us or by 
any of our progenitors or ancestors late kings or queens of England, 
heretofore granted, made, or confirmed, or by any other lawful means, 
right, title, custom, prescription, or usage heretofore lawfully used, 
had, or accustomed to have, hold, exercise and enjoy, to the afore- 
said mayor and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, and their 
successors for ever, to the only and proper use and behoof of the said 
mayor and burgesses or their successors, under the ancient rent and 
revenue-tolls therefore due and accustomed to be paid. Willing that 
the said mayor and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, and 
their successors, may have, hold, and enjoy, exercise, and use for ever, 
all and singular the manors, lands, tenements, liberties, and privileges, 
and the rest of the premises aforesaid, according to the true meaning 
of these presents, without the hindrance or disturbance of us, our heirs, 
or successors, or of any of our justices, sheriffs, bailiffs, officers, or min- 
isters whatsoever. Wherefore we will, and by these presents, firmly 
enjoining, do command for us, our heirs and successors, that the afore- 
said mayor and burgesses of the borough aforesaid and their succes- 
sors, may have, hold, use and enjoy, and exercise, and may be enabled 
and empowered to have, hold, use, enjoy, and exercise for ever, all 
and singular the liberties, authorities, jurisdictions, customs, grants, 
franchises, exemptions, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, and the 
rest of the premises aforesaid, and all the goods and chattels whatso- 
ever, according to the tenor, form, and eifect of these our letters 
patent, without our molestation, hindrance, or interruption, or of our 
heirs and successors, or of our justices, sheriff's, eschaetors, bailiff's, or 
other our officers whatsoever. Willing moreover, that the mayor and 
burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, or their successors, be not 
by any of our justices, officers, ministers; or of our heirs or successors 



4B HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

of the town or borough aforesaid, concerning or for the right usage, 
claim or mis-user of any of the liberties, franchises, or jurisdictions 
heretofore made, molested nor troubled, neither may any of them be 
molested or troubled, or in that respect may he or they be compelled 
to answer in any manner howsoever. Moreover we will, and by these 
presents for us, our heirs and successors, we grant to the aforesaid 
mayor and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, and their suc- 
cessors, that these our letters patent of the enrolment of them, and all 
and singular the causes and grants in them contained, may be, and 
shall be good, firm, binding, and effectual to and for all intents and 
purposes, according to our real intentions, and shall be taken, con- 
strued, reputed and adjudged in all courts and before every our judges 
and justices, officers or ministers, and of our heirs and successors, in 
the kindest and most favourable sense, for the advantage of the afore- 
said mayor and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, and their 
successors, towards and against us our heirs and successors. Not- 
withstanding that any manors, messuages, lands, tenements^ 
wastes, waste-grounds, tithes, encroachments, rents, services, here- 
ditaments, piscary, fishing waters, banks, waters running between the 
banks, duties, tolls, authorities, liberties, customs, immunities, privi- 
leges or exemptions, had, used, or enjoyed by the burgesses of the 
town or borough aforesaid, by whatsoever name or incorporation called 
or incorporated, be not particularly mentioned or be imperfectly re- 
cited or named ; and notwithstanding the not taking or not finding 
any inquisition by virtue of any, our writ of ad quod damnum, to be 
directed to the sheriff of our county of York, to inquire of the damage 
and prejudice, or the detriment of the premises or any of them, or 
notwithstanding any other uncertaintj'- or imperfections in these pre- 
sents or in clause or grant in them contained, or any other matter 
whatsoever. Also, we will, and by these presents we declare our royal 
meaning to be that Jno. Dickson, the now common clerk, or clerk of the 
peace of the borough aforesaid, may be and shall be the common 
clerk, and clerk of the peace there during his natural life. And that 
no recorder or common clerk of our town or borough aforesaid, for the 
future to be elected or appointed into this kind of office or offices, or 
either of them, may respectively enter before they, and each of them 
is, are, or shall by us, our heirs or successors, by a warrant in that 
behalf under our sign manual, and of oui" heirs or successors be re- 
spectively approved of, (anj- thing in these presents contained, or any 
other matter, cavise or thing whatsoever to the contrary thereof, in 
any wise notwithstanding.) In witness whereof, we have made these 
our letters patent, — Witness ourself at Westminster, the 20th day of 
February, in the twenty-ninth year of our reign. PIGOTT. 

Bt/ writ of privy seal. — For fine, 61, I2>s, 4d. H. Finch, C» 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 49 

At this time, it appears, that John Dickson was appointed town 
clerk, and received the king's sign manual. According to the inqui- 
sition taken at Castleford, king Charles instituted two new fairs, the 
taking of hail, and acknowledging recognizances according to the 
statute of Acton Burn ell. 

That no person, on heing elected an alderman, might advance 
any plea for the non-acceptance of the office, an order was passed in 
the year 1692, whereby a fine of 401. was levied upon every one so 
refusing to act ; and this penalty, as appears by the order, could not 
be mitigated to any smaller sum than 20/.* 

The alderman's club, which is held on the first day in every 
month, at the house of Mr. Arton, the Star Inn, was instituted on the 
10th of April, in the year 1738, during the mayoralty of John Perfect, 
Esq. The pui*port of the meetings of this club, is the consultation of 
the affairs relating to the body corporate.^* 

After the restoration, commissioners were appointed, by letters 
patent, bearing date 10th. September, 1662, to regulate all bodies cor- 
porate ; and v/e find that on this occasion, Leonard Ward, John Cooper, 
Richard Wildman, John Drake, and Jarvis Cooper, aldermen, for 
furthering and aiding the interests of the roundhead faction, were 
removed from offices ; and their places occupied by William Wilkinson, 
Robert Tatham, Richard Austwicke, George Shillito, Leonard Stables, 
and Thomas Jackson, j\miors,:J: 

Bye-laws sufficiently indicative of the contracted notions and spirit 
of the times, and proving at once the existence of Saxon guilds, were 
often exercised by the bodies corporate. By one of these laws, * no man 
was allowed to commeTice his business within the borough, unless he 
had served an apprenti<:eship to the said business within the limits of 
the borough,' and in consequence thereof, the inhabitants secured to 
themselves the trade of the place, forming companies,§. into which 
none could be admitted, but on the condition specified, or by payment 
of a certain sum of money. Although these companies seem to 
have been abolished by a bye-law, passed in the mote-hall, on the 1st. 



* Borough of\ At a general and public meeting in the mote-hall, 24th August, 1692, 

Pontefract. ) of the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, it was unanimously agreed 

and constituted, that if any person refused to serve the office of alderman, after being 

duly elected, for such refusing, to be fined 40i. and the fin*e not to be mitigated under 

2(H.— O. T. B. p. 170. 

t Vide, form of institution of alderman's club, in town's book. 
t Vide, old town's book, pp. 78, 79. 

\ Tlie companies formed, and of which admission the following is a copy, were of 
the tailors and drapers : — 

Boroi(.gh of\ 23d May, 1738, Thomas Hill, tailor, was then admitted free of the company 
Pontefract, j of drapers and tailors, within the said borough. 
Witness,— B. HEPWORTH, 

Clerk to the company, 

H 



50 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

of February, in the year 1736;* yet, by the admission quoted, they 
appear to have been in existence a short time afterwards. 

James II. in the first year of his reign, granted to the borough the 
annexed chaiter of rights and privileges : — 

CHARTER OF JAMES II. 

(endorsed in original No. 12.) 

JAMES the second, by the grace of God, of England, Scotland, 
France, and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c. To all persons 
tb whom these our present letters patent shall come. Greeting, 

Whereas, our town or boroiigh of Pontefract is a very ancient 
and populous town or borough, &c. (here the clauses of the charter of 
Charles II. are inserted, xmtil we come to the authority granted to the 
saayor and burgesses to arrest any person concerning any action*, 
after which it runs thus:) And by these presents, for us, oui- heirs 
and successors, we also order that for the future there may and shall be 
for ever in the said borough the officers and members of the corpora- 
tion under following, that is to say : one faithful and discreet person, 
who shall be, and shall be called the mayor of the towTi or borough 
aforesaid ; twelve faithful and discreet persons, who shall be, and shall 
be called the aldermen of the town or borough aforesaid j and one 
discreet person learned in the laws of England, who shall be, and shall 
be called the recorder of the borough aforesaid ; and one faithful and 
discreet person who shall be, and shall be called the common clerk of 
the town or borough aforesaid. And for the better discharge of our will 
and grant in this behalf, we have assigned, nominated, constituted, and 
appointed, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, we 
do assign, nominate, and appoint our beloved John Rusby, gentleman, 
to be the present mayor of the town or borough aforesaid ; and we 
have assigned, nominated, constituted, and appointed, and by these 
presents for us, our heirs and successors, we do assign, nominate, con- 
stitute, and appoint oar beloved John Frank, Robert Tatham, Richard 
Austwicke, Francis Kellam, John Johnston, Samuel Taylor, William 
Gates, Francis Farrer, William Ramsden, P..ichard Oates, William 
Coates, and John Knowles, gentlemen, to be the first and present 
aldermen of the town or borough aforesaid; and we have assigned, 
nominated, constituted, and appointed, and by these presents for us, 
our heirs and successors, ^ve do assign, nominate, constitute, and ap-* 

t The clause in this law, for abolishing the companies, ran thus : ' that restric- 
tions laid on trade, by preventing the spirit of competition, tended greatly to the injury 
of trade, and was found to be destructive of the prosperity of the tov\n ; and, in conse- 
quence, all orders, constitiUions, and bye-laws heretofore made, are repealed, revoked, 
disannulled, and made absolutely void ; and that all persons whatever may have free 
liberty, right, and authority, to use and exercise their respective trades, businesses, or 
emgloyments, within the said borough from henceforth,' 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACTo 51 

pmntour beloved Francis White, Esq. to be the recorder of the borough 
aforesaid, and John Dixon, gentleman, to be the common clerk of the 
town or borough aforesaid. And further, we will and by these pre- 
sents for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the mayor, aldermen 
and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, and to their succes- 
sors, that the mayor, aldermen, recorder, and common clerk, and 
every of them, by these presents named and appointed, or hereafter to 
^e named and elected, shall continue in their respective offices during 
such time and in such manner, and shall be removed and discarded 
from his and their offices, in the same manner and form, and for sudi 
•reasonable and equitable cause as within the town or borough afore- 
said be, and they have been used and accustomed. Also we will, and 
"by these presents firmly enjoin and command that the said John Rusby 
lierein-mentioned to be the mayor of the town or borough aforesaid, 
loefore he may be permitted to execute the office of mayor, must 
-take the several corporal oaths, called the oaths of allegiance and 
supremacy, and the oaths prescribed and mentioned in an act of par- 
liament for the good government and regulation of corporations, this 
corporal oath upon God's holy evangelists, well and faithfully to exe- 
cute the office of mayor and the oath in that behalf, by the laws and 
statutes of our kingdom of England, provided and required, and he 
shall make the declaration and subscription mentioned in the afore- 
said act, before any two aldermen aforesaid to whom by these presents 
we give and grant free power and authority to exhibit, administer to, 
and require of the aforesaid John Rusby, the several oaths, declara- 
tions and subscriptions aforesaid, without any other warrant or com- 
mission from us in that respect to be had or obtained. Moreover we 
will, and by these presents do command that the aldermen, recor- 
der, and common clerk, herein-mentioned and appointed, and all the 
-freemen and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, and every of 
them, before they or any of them be suffered to execute the respective 
offices shall respectively take their corporal oaths upon God's holy 
evangelists for the faithful and just discharge of their several offices, 
and the oaths, declarations, and subscriptions aforesaid, in that behalf 
^Y the laws and statutes of our kingdom of England, provided and 
required before the aforesaid John Rusby, to which said John Rusby 
we do indeed by these presents give and grant full power and authority 
to give, require of, and administer to the said persons and every of 
them respectively, such oaths, declarations and subscriptions afore- 
said, without any other warrant or commission from us in that behalf 
to be had or obtained. And further, out of our abundant special 
favour and sure knowledge and mere motion, we grant to the mayor 



52 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, and their successors, 
that they and their successors for the future may have for ever, and 
shall be impowered to have within the town or borough aforesaid, and 
the liberties or precincts thereof, all and singular so many, so great, 
such like, and the very same sort of other members, officers, and minis- 
ters, and every of them as many and such like as the mayor and bur- 
gesses of the town or borough, or their predecessors at any time, 
within the space of seven years now last past, have had and might 
have been accustomed, enabled, or ought to have. And that the 
election appointment, and swearing of the several kinds of officers, 
members, or ministers, and every of them, shall be made by and be- 
fore such person and persons and in such manner ; and likewise, he or 
they shall be removed by such person and persons as in the town or 
borough aforesaid, wathin the space of seven years now last passed, it 
has been used and accustomed. And further, we wUl, and by these pre- 
sents for us, ouLT heirs and successors, w« grant to the mayor, alder- 
men, and burgesses of the town or borough aforesaid, and to their 
successors, that as often as it shaR fall out that any mayor, alderman, 
recorder or common clerk of the town or borough aforesaid, for the time 
being, departs this life, or from his or their office or offices withdraws, 
or is removed, (every one of which persons we will for reasonable 
cause be removeable and removed,) then in such case, and^so often, 
another fit person or persons from time to time, atid at all times here- 
after to come, for and into those offices so vacant as aforesaid, in due 
manner shall be chosen, sworn, and appointed, in the same manner 
and form by such persons and at such places, days and times as in the 
said town or borough for the space of seven years now last past has 
been used and accustomed. And the office or offices, place or places 
into which he or they shall have been so elected and sworn, he and 
they should enjoy for such time and times and from thence he or they 
shall be removed in such manner as in eases of this kind*within the 
town or borough aforesaid, within the time aforesaid has been accus- 
tomed. Provided always, and by these presents we reserve to purself, 
our heirs and successors, full power and authority from time to time, 
and at all times hereafter, at our and at the will and ple£tsure of our 
heirs and successors, to remove and to declare them to be removed, 
the mayor, recorder, common clerk, and any other, or other of the 
aldermen of the town or borough aforesaid, for the time being, by any 
order of us, or of our heirs or successors, made in the privy council 
aforesaid to them respectively notified. And as often as we, our heus 
or successors, by any such order in ourprivy council made, shall in this 
manner declare the mayor, recorder, common clerk, and any other or 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRA€T. 53 

Dthers of the aldermen of the town or borough aforesaid, for the time 
being, to be removed from their respective offices, that then and from 
thenceforth the mayor, recorder, common clerk, or any other, or others 
of the aldermen of the town or borough aforesaid, for the time being, 
thus declared or to be declared to be removed from their several and 
respective offices, may be and shall verily and without any further 
process, really and to all intents and purposes whatsoever, be removed, 
and this must be done as oft as occasion shall require, and any thing 
to the contrary thereof notwithstanding. (It is then couched in the 
same form and words as the aforesaid charter of Chas, II. until it come« 
to the paragraph appointing John Dickson the common clerk, when it 
thus closes :) So that express mention of the true annual value of the 
certainty of the premises, or of any of them, or of other the gifts or 
grants by us or by any of our progenitors or predecessors to the afore- 
said mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, of the borough of Pontefract 
aforesaid, heretofore made in the premises is at the least specified, or 
any statute, act, proviso, proclamation, or injunction before had, pub- 
lished, enacted, or provided, or any matter, cause, or thing whatsoever 
to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. — In witness 
whereof, we have made these our letters patent. Witness ourself at 
Westminster, the 23d day of March, in the first year of our reign. 
For fine in the Hanaper, 31. 6s. 8d. PIGOTT. 

GUILFORD, Chief Secretary. 

It appears, by the above charter, that James changed the combur- 
gesses into twelve burgesses,* and invested in himself the right of re- 
xnoving, at his will and pleasure, the mayor and aldermen. This was 
ordained, that all bodies corporate should be dependent on the crown, 
and thus be compelled to support the royal pretensions, or be deprived 
of their ancient privileges. 

The estate of the corporate body consisted of fourteen acres of 
land, lying within the borough, a house in shoe-market, and a corn 
-windmill, in the township of Tanshelf ; as well as a number of rents 
and tolls issuing out of certain houses and lands within the said bor- 
ough. The charter of Richard III. empowers the mayor for the time 
being, either by himself or deputy, annually to collect the rents, then 
called Castle Farm, Andrew Farm, and Plowland Farm, with the wind- 
mill and other tolls due to the corporate body. The following is a list 

* The names of the first respective twelve aldermen or officers so created, as it re- 
dounds an honour to their posterity, were John Rusby mayor, John Frank, Robert 
Tatham, Richard Austwick, Francis Kellam, John Johnston, Samuel Taylor, William 
Gates, Francis Farrer, William Ramsden, Richard Gates, William Coates, and John 
Knowles, aldermen. At this period, Francis White was chosen recorder, and John 
Dixon, town-clerk. The mayor and aldermen are justices of the peace in the said 
borough for life, although the jurisdiction of the borough is contined to the limits of the 
Aown, and are therefore, according to heraldic laws, entitled to the denomination of 
escjuires.—Tetlow's Hist, of Pontefract, 1/69, p. 27. 



54 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

of rents and tolls in the year 1732 : — A rent from Messrs. Perfects, for 
a town's close, lOL bs. ; a rent from Benjamin Popplewell, for a town's 
close, 111. Os. ; a rent from the executors of Mr. J. Kitchingman, for a 
town's close, exchanged with Mr. AVilson, 21. 10s. Mr. Wilson also 
pays 30^. more during ]\Ir. Kitchingman's lease, at the expiration of 
which it belongs to the corporation. It is now rented of the execu- 
toi'S by Mrs. Sunley, until the year 1773, for 61. per annum, 41. Os. Od. 
a rent from Thomas Walsh of the Windmill, 51. Os. Od.^ a fee-farm 
jt'ent paid by the king's receiver, of 41. Is. 3d. from this sum, the 
following deductions are always made, for a debenter, 3*. 8c?. for 
poundage, 4j. for acquittance, 1*. — 31. 12s. Id. j a rent from Thomas 
Ramsd^lj, for the pump .10*. 6d. ; a rent from John Heseltine, for a 
house in shoe-market, 11. 4s. Od. ; a rent from Joseph Foster, for the 
bakehouse, and toll of swine, at 2c?. each, 2Z. 10^. Oc?. j a toll of wool, 
let annually for 21. 2s. Od. ; a toll of apples and potatoes, let annually 
for 6s. 8d. ; a toll of horses at three-pence for ail which are sold, 
and six-pence for an exchange, half of which is due to mace-bearer, 
and the other to the mayor, collected by the mace-bearer, and per- 
son annually contracting for it, 6s. Sd. ; a toll of sheep that are sold, 
at four-pence per score, and another toll from every person on 
market and other days, who go about the streets disposing of wares, 
let annually for 21. 2s. Od. A toll on sheep at the bowling green 
on Trinity fau' day of twenty-pence per score for those coming in, and 
four-pence per score for those going out, if sold. A toll on boats 
passing upon the river Aire, bet\\4xt Templehurst and Knottingley 
mills, for every boat with a cock boat, four-pence, and without, 2d.* 

* The order for collecting the tolls on boats : — 
Borough of\ ' At a general and public meeting of %ViIliam Harvey, Esq. mayor, the alder- 
Pontrfract. ) men, burgesses, and other inhabitants, in the mote-hall, Jsovember 14th, 
1732, it was then ordered, t!iat the said mayor, Wm. Harvey, Esq. do make a warrant 
under the corporation seal, to such person or persons as shall think proper to collect the 
ancient tqlls due to the corporation, of the boats passing and repassing on the river Aire, 
betwixt Templehurst and Knottingley, viz ; for every vessel or boat singly, two-pence, 
and with a cockboat, four-pence J and if any person or persons shall refuse to pay the 
same, that then such person or persons so nominated to collect the same, shall distrain 
for noti-payment thereof, and be indemnified by the town for so doing; and if any suits 
or costs shall arise, or be commenced, prosecuted, or defended, relating thereunto, that 
such expense and charge be paid by the inhabitants of this borough, by an assessment 
or assessments to be made for that piu-pose, rateably and proportionably, according to 
all other assessments in the said borough ; and frorn and after this day, the benefit and 
income arising from the said tolls, shall be given, and be deemed to and for the sole 
use and benefit of the corporation for ever ; reserving only one guinea per annum, paya- 
ble thereout, by the corporation, to the mayor of the said' borough, for the time being, 
and his success'ors for ever.' By the statute* 10 and 11 William III. for making the rivers 
Aire and Calder navigable, frorn ^Veeland to Leeds and Wakefield, the honourable the 
House of Commons took care, that the act should in no wise abridge the mayor, alder- 
men and burgesses of Pontefract, of this ancient toll. And as Kno^ttingley is'within the 
parish of Pon'tefract, and is rendered famous for the excellency of its lime, for agricul- 
ture, and the extensiveness of its trade, the said honourable House of Commons were 
equally tenacious of the welfare of such town ; and accordingly, by the said act, pro- 
vided that no boat or barge belonging to Knottingley, or any other place on the river 
Aire between Knottingley and the place where the Aire falls into'the Ouse, laden with lime 
only, should pay any duty for passing through any locks or wears, below Knottingley 
mill-dam, The first meeting of the commissioners under this act, was held in Pontefracu 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 55 

A toll from the butchers and others keeping a stall on a market day 2d* 
A toll from all pereons keeping a stall on the first day after Michael- 
mas, 6<f. which is called booking money. A toll from all persons keep- 
ing a stall on St. Andrew's fair, twenty day fair, Candlemas fair, Palm 
Sunday, Low-Sunday, Trinity and St. Giles's fairs, 4«Z. each day. A 
toll from every one keeping a stall on the market day before Christ- 
mas, called castle-farm. A toll, called gate law toll, of one p6nny for 
every waggon bound with iron, and one halfpenny for every bar6 
wain.f A toll of one shilling from every one keeping a stall on Christ- 
mas day only. A rent resolute of 5?. 4*. %d. being pai't of the fee 
farm, paid out of the Dutchy of Lancaster, by the receptor, to the 
mayor.! 

* If any butcher die, who had a stand in the market-place, the mayor for the thne- 
being, has the disposal of tlie grovind to the best bidder ; and the stands generally raise 
from ten shillings and sixpence to twenty-one shillings. Also, if any butcher come on 
St. Giles' Monday, and was not there on the Saturday previovis, he<pays four-pence; but 
all persons paying on the Saturday are exempt on Monday. 

t This toll since the year 1810 has been vested in the commissioners of the streets, 
by virtue of a clause in the act of parliament passed in the 50th Geo. III. 1810, in aid of 
the assessment for the repairs of the public places in Pontefract. The clause runs thus : — 

' And whereas a certain ancient toll thorough, called gate law money, has been col- 
lected by and paid to the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough of Pontefract, 
for the passsage of carriages laden and passing in upon or through the same borough, by 
reason of the said mayor, aldermen, and burgesses being liable to repair certain pave- 
ments within tlie said borough, whereby the said passages have been rendered more 
commodious ; and it being deemed more for the advantage of the inhabitants, and more 
agreeable to the objects for which the said toll was originally created, that the same 
shall be transferred from the said mayor, aldermen and burgesses, to the commissioners 
appointed by and for the purposes of this act j be it further enacted, that the right of 
the said mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, to the said toll called gate law money, shall 
from and after the passing of this act cease, and the same shall from thenceforth become 
vested in the commissioners hereby appointed, and their successors, in as full ample and 
beneficial a manner to all intents and purposes as the said teayor^ aldermen and bur- 
gesses, now hold or are entitled to the same; and that the said commissioners shall 
apply all the monies to be received from the said toll in aid of the assessments to be laid 
upon the inhabitants of the said township of Pontefract, by virtue and for the purposes 
of this act: provided always, that nothing in this act contained shall extend or be 
deemed or construed to extend, to charge, impeach, affect, abridge, alter or vary the 
right, title or estate to the said gate law money, otherwise than the changing the pro- 
perty thereof as aforesaid, but that the said commissioners shall hold the same upon the 
same conditions, and subject to the same charges, burdens and repairs, as the said may- 
or, aldermen, and burgesses held, or were entitled to hold the same immediately before 
the passing of this act.' 

X The last time the payment of this rent resolute was made, was in the year 1698, 
by Mr. Young, the receiver, to Mr. Thomas Routh ; and since that time it has never 
been paid, through the neglect of the parties concerned. — Vide MSS. in the possession of 
E. B. Frank, of Campsall Park. 

The following order for the payment of this rent resolute was given in a letter from 
Lord Downe, the representative of the borough, to Hastings Sayle, Esq. mayor, dated 
the 2d of February, in the year 1688 : 
Gentlemen, — 

I hope before this, you are acquainted that Mr. Husband faithfully pro- 
mised me to write Mr. Brooksbank, of Leeds, to pay you that rent resolute, due to you, 
which I hope 'ere this you have received. The best news I can send you, (which I am 
sure will be very acceptable to you,) is the king's message to the commons, which was, 
that his majesty having been informed that the revenue of the heath money is very 
gijievous to the people, is therefore willing to agree to a regulation of it, or the taking of 
It wholly away, as the house shall think most convenient^ and as in this his majesty 
doth consider the case of the subject, for he doth not doubt that you will be careful of 
the support of the crown, this was done, and gratefully acknowledged. There have been 
some persons about the town busy in combining together to raise some new troubles, for 
■which they are imprisoned, the Lord Arran's sister, the lord Beaumore, sir Robert 
Hamilton, and he that married lord Arran's sister. There are some English they say, 
joined with them, but they are gone out of town ; yet it cannot be expected, but after so 
great a change there will be some discontents appear. The lords are busy in a bill of 
comprehension and toleration to some. I hope this may please all. — I pray God send 
us peace, which is the hearty prayer of Your faithful servant, DOWNE. 

P.S. Pray communicate the good news to your neighbours » 
To Hastings Sayle, Esq. mayor of the borough, 



56 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



A reserved rent of 49/. 13^. 4d. was paid out of these tolls to the 
crown, until Richard III. discharged them of 15/. 13^. 4rf. of the sum, 
by reason of the decay of many of the buildings belonging to the cor- 
porate body within the borough.* 

The following is a list of all the mayors from the time of incor- 
poration of the borough, by Richard HI. in the year 1484, being the 
second year of his reign, to the present period. 

Nomina majorum, a tempore Johannis Hill, octavo die Julii, anno Richardi Tertii, 
omnium, villae Pontefractiensis, qui fuit electus,^ secundo regni regis ; charta, anno 
dominj, 1484.t 



RICHARD III. 

1 John Hill, 1484. 

HENRY VII. 

2 Nicholas Green, 5. 

3 William Sadler, 6. 

4 Richard Jackson, 7. 

5 William Strooder, | g 
Stroder or Strother, ) 

6 Robert Austwicke, 9. 

7 John Spriniihall, 1490. 

8 Robert Gelfyce, | , 
Gellis or Gellyes, J 
John Adams or Adam, 2. 



1500. 



10 Richard White, 

11 Thomas Butler, 

12 John Hill, 

13 John Hill, 

14 John Hill, 

15 John Watson, 

16 John Hodgson 

17 Robert Moore, 

18 Richard Green, or\ i 
G reeve, J 

19 Thos. Huntingden,- \ o 
or Huntinetoiv, j " 

20 William Wakfield, 3. 

21 HenrvorHughAust-\4 
wicke", J "•• 

22 Thomas Smith, 5. 

23 William Purser, ) 
Moorhouse or Purse- > 6. 
velle, j 

24 Robert Warde, 7. 

25 Dionisius or Dennis ^ q 
Austwicke, J °- 

HENRY VIII. 

26 Thomas Cooke, 9. 

27 Thomas Ellesley, 1 i-m 
ElleslyorEUisleyJ ^^^"• 

28 Robert Gibson, 1. 

29 John Hodgson, 2. 

30 Henry Butler, 3. 

31 John Strooder, 4. 

32 Thomas Hincl: 
Ynce or Ince, 

33 William Purse 



5. 



34 John Illingworth, or\ - 

Ilringworthjr > 

3.5 Thornas Smith, 8. 

36 William Hodeshon, 9. 

37 Roger Chapman, 1520. 

38 Jolin Graves, 1. 

39 William Nelson, 2. 

40 William Purser, 3. 

41 Robert Harrison, 4. 

42 Roger Jackson, 5. 

43 John Wakefield, 6. 

44 Thomas Hodgshon, 7. 

45 Lionel Rolston, 8. 

46 William Hodgshon, 9. 

47 William Thwaites ) ^ ron 
orThawits, J ^^^• 

48 William Norton, 1. 

49 Roger Witherington | ^ 
or Wedderton, J *" 

50 Robert Harrison, 3. 

51 Wm.Wildbore, \ . 
Wellbore, or Wilbore J 

52 Peter Wakefield, 5. 

53 Lionel Rolston, 6. 

54 William Hodgshon, 7. 
65 Richard Wildbore, 8, 

56 Robert Farnell, 9. 

57 Edmund or Ed- 
ward Tvas,t 1540. 

58 John Skipton, 1. 

59 Tho. Austwicke, 2. 

60 John WakeEeld and 
Robert Farnell, 3. 

61 Alan Ayre,t 4. 

62 William Hodgshon, 5. 

63 John Atkinson, 6. 

64 John Hodgshon, 7. 

65 Richard Wildbore, 8. 

66 Alan Ayre, 9. 

67 Richard Wildbore, 1550. 

68 Thomas ^Vakefield or 
Richard Green, 1. 

69 William Norton, 2. 

70 Robert Robinson, 3. 

71 Thomas Holgate, 4, 

72 Thomas Etherington, 5. 



73 John Oldfield, 6. 

74 Bonifiace Savage, 7* 
QUEEN ELIZABETH. 

75 Richard Wildbore, S. 

76 Thomas Austwicke, 9. 

77 Stephen Elsley, 1560. 

78 Richard Wildbore, 1'. 

79 Rowland Savage, 2. 

80 John Skipton, 3. 

81 Thomas Holgate, jun. 4. 

82 Leo. Henley, 6. 

83 Peter Etherington, 6. 

84 John Skipton, , 7. 

85 Richard Wildbore, 8. 

86 Boniface Savage, 9. 

87 Thos. Wakefield, 1570. 



88 Peter Etherington.f 

89 Peter Etherington, 

90 W. Calebeck, 

91 Peter Skelton, 

92 Boniface Savage, 

93 Peter Etherington, 

94 Ralph Ay res, 

95 John Skipton, 8. 

96 John Eldsley, 9. 

97 Wm. Calebeck, 1580. 

98 Thom.as Crossley or 
Crosby, I. 

99 Edward Rusby, 2. 

100 Robert Cooke, 3. 

101 Henry Farnell, 4. 

102 Richard Thwaites, 6. 

103 Wm. Savage, 

104 Henry Farnelf, 

105 Boniface Savage, 

106 Alan Austwicke, 

107 Richard Thwaites, 

108 John Bramhall, 

109 Thos. Robinson, 

110 Wm. Stables, 

111 Alan Austwicke, 

112 "Wm. By water, 

113 Henry Farnell, 

114 Richard Thwaites, 

115 AVm. Savage, 

116 Alan Eldsley, 



7. 



1590. 
1. 
2. 



9. 



* The residue, 34L is novr paid to the duke of Leeds ; as well as the land tax 'of the 
rent, to collectors as it becomes due : but this land tax is allowed them aeain, when 
the resented rent is paid. Out of the rents are also paid to the recorder half of his salary, 
■wrapped up in paper, and given him in open court at the Easter sessions ; arid 
to the waiths, at Michaelmas, 10s. 6d. ; and to the collector of tolls from the butch- 
ers everj- market day, and the tolls of sheep on Trinity fair day at the bowling-green, 
his dinner, and a pint of ale on each day he collects, and 21s. annually. All the tolls were 
generally collected by the serjeant at mace and the jailor. 

t Gent's Comp.'Hist. Romana, v. ii. appx. p. 28. et seq. 

t The king visited Pontefract this year. 

§ In this year the plague raged in the town. 

5r During this year, the conduit was partly erected. It was finished the following 
year. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



57 



117 John Frank, 1600. 

118 James Moore, 1. 

119 John Bramhall,* 2. 

JAMES I. 

120 Thomas Cattle, 

121 Joshua Wakefield, 

122 John Skipton, 

123 Thomas Stables, 

124 Peter Rogers, 

125 William Tatham, 

126 Alan Austwicke, 

127 Wm. Bywater, 

128 Richard Thwaites, 

129 Richard Bullock, 

130 Joshua Wakefield, 

131 John Frank, 

132 Wm. Tatham, 

133 Wm. Tatham, 

134 John Eastwood, 

135 Leonard Warde, 

136 Wm. Wilkinson, 

137 Peter Skipton, 

138 Thomas Austwicke, 

139 Thomas Rasin, 

140 William Gates, 

141 Stephen Cooper, 

142 Thomas Hitchin, 

CHARLES I. 

143 Maximilian Adams, 6. 

144 Richard Clement, 7. 

145 Edward Rusby, 8. 

146 Robert Moore, 9. 

147 Matt. Hardwicke, 1630. 

148 Robert Moore, and 
Maxim. Adams, 

149 William Tatham, 
160 William Gates, 
151 Leonard Warde, 

162 Thomas Hitchin, 

163 Nicholas Stables, 

154 Maximilian Adams, 

155 Robert Frank, 

156 Thomas Wilkinson, 

157 Tho. Austwicke, 

158 John Tatham, 

159 John Wilkinson, 2. 

160 Richard Gates, 3. 

161 Jarvis Shillito,t 4. 

162 Jarvis Shillito, 5. 

163 John Skiirr, 6, 

164 John Ramsden, 7. 

165 Edward Field, 8. 

CHARLES II. 

166 Matthew Frank, 9. 



170 Christopher Long, 1653. 



3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
1610. 
1. 
2. 
3. 
'4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 



1620. 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 



171 William Gates, 

172 Christopher Long, 

173 Richard Gatesj and 
Robert Moore, 

174 John Ramsden, 
176 Robert Cooper, 

176 Richard Wildman, 

177 John Frank, 



6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
1660. 



1710. 
1. 



178 Nicholas Stables, 1. 

179 Richard Smith, 2. 

180 William Wilkinson, 3. 

181 Richard Austwicke, 4. 

182 Robert Tathain, 6. 

183 Robert Tatham, 6. 

184 George Shillito, 7. 

185 Thomas Jackson, 8. 

186 John Rusby, 9. 

187 Francis Kellam, 1670. 

188 John Johnson, 1. 

189 Samuel Taylor, 2. 

190 John Frank, 

191 Edward Holcott, 

192 Christopher Hayford, 5. 

193 William Gates, 6. 

194 Francis Farrier, 7. 

195 Richard Austwicke, 8. 



221 Sir J. Bland, Bart, 1704. 

222 Hastings Sayle, 5, 

223 George Holcott, 6, 

224 Thomas Sayle, 7. 
226 Richard Routh, 

226 Thomas Taylor, 

227 John Kellam, 

228 George Skipton, 

229 Mich. Waterhouse, 

230 Thomas Taylor, 

GEORGE I. 

231 Robert Sharphouse & 
William Coates, 

232 Robert Lowther, 

233 William Lee, 

234 Hastings Sayle and 
Lawrence Fox, 

235 William Lee. 

236 George Skipton 

237 Thomas Ma»on; 

238 George Skipton, 



1720. 
1. 



1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
1640, 
1. 



9. 

1680. 
1. 



167 John Cowper, 

168 Leonard Warde, 

169 Robert Frank, 



1650. 
1. 
2. 



196 Robert Tatham, 

197 George Shillito, 

198 Thomas Jackson, 

199 William Gates, i 

200 John Rusby, § i 

201 John Rusby, ^ 

JAMES II. 

202 John Knowles, '. 

203 William Coates, ( 

204 Francis Kellam, ; 

205 Hastings Sayle, i 

206 John Johnson and 
Samuel Taylor, I 

WILLIAM AND MARY 

207 Ditto. 169 

208 Peter Mason, 

209 William Stables, 

210 Thomas Taylor, 

211 Jarvis Shillito, 

212 William Burgess and 
John Frank, 

213 Thomas Sayle, 

214 William Braine, 

215 Bartho. Bateman, 

216 Thomas Routh, 

217 Hastings Sayi^r 

218 William Coates, 

QUEEN ANNE. 

219 William Stables,l[ 

220 Thomas Taylor, 



3. 239 Wm. Kitchingman,**2. 

4. 240 Lawrence Fox, 3. 

241 George Jennings, 4. 

242 John Kellam, 5. 

243 George Jennings, 6, 
GEORGE II. 

244 Wm. Kitchingman, 7. 

245 William Lee, 8. 

246 Wm. Kitchingman, 9. 

247 John Kellam, 1730. 



9. 

1700. 

1. 

2. 
3. 



7. 



248 Lawrence Fox,tt 

249 W. Harvey, 
260 Joseph Kitchingmanj 

251 John Kitchingman, 

252 John Lee, 
263 Joshua Wilson, 
254 John Perfect, 
265 Lawrence Fox, and 

John Killam, 
256 John Stephenson 
267 William Crewe, 

258 Ld. Vic. Gallway, 

259 John Bruce, 

260 John Stephenson 

261 Thomas Whiteman, 

262 Joshua Wilson, 

263 William Lee, 

264 William Drake, 

265 Joseph Kitchingman 

266 John Kitchingman, 9, 

267 Joshua Wilson, 1750. 

268 Samuel Saltonstall. 1, 

269 Joshua Wilson, 2. 

270 William Crewe, 3. 

271 John Perfect, 4, 

272 John Bruce, 6 



8. 
9. 
1740. 
1. 
2. 
3. 



7. 



* The queen died on the 24th of March, having sometime previously to her death, 
ordered a beautiful chapel to be erected in Pontefract Castle, in the place of the ancient 
building, for its greater lustre. — Gent's Com. Rom. p. 30. 

t This year the civil wars having begun, Pontefract Castle was besieged by the Par- 
liamentarian forces, Jarvis Shillito, the mayor, fled to the castle ; and it appears he 
held the office in the succeeding jjrear. 

t Richard Gates died on the 25th of March and Robert Moore was elected for the 
remainder of the year. 

§ The charter of mayoralty was this year rendered into the hands of the earl of 
Sunderland, principal secretary of state, and the mayor and public officers held their 
situations during his majesty's pleasure. 

II He died during the mayoralty of Rd. Routh, and was buried in the western part 
of All-saints curch. 

^ He died during his mayoralty, and was buried in All-saints church. 

** He died in 1732, and was buried in Scarborough church yard. 

ft In this year, the Rev. Marmaduke Fothergill, D-D. who had lived many years 
irv Pontefract, Avhere his memory will long remain precious among other benefactors, 
died at Westminster. His choice collection of books was presented to the library of 
the cathedral church at York.— Gent's Hist. Comp. Rom. ii. 42 The greatest part 
of the description of Pontefract, is extracted from a letter penned by this reverend gen- 
tleman, in the year 1710. The letter was dated the 30th of December, and was sent to 
the editors of the Magna Britannia, vi. 394. 



5F 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRAcr. 



273 Richard Sugden, 

274 John Bright, 

275 Butler Lucas, 

276 Lawrence Fox, 

277 George Swiney, 

GEORGE III. 

278 William Perfect, 

279 J. Kitchingman, 

280 William Lamb, 

281 Thomas Taylor,* 

282 Joshua Wilson, 

283 Sam. Saltonstall, 

284 Thomas Popplewell 

285 William Crewe.t 
2SG Richard Sugden, 

287 Tliomas Taylor, 

288 William CockeU, 

289 John Perfect, 

290 Thomas Taylor, 

291 William Cockelf, 

292 AViUiam Perfect, 

293 Butler Lucas, 

394 Lawrence Fox, and 
Samuel Saltonstall, 
295 Robert Davison, 



1756. 

7. 
8. 
9. 



1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
, 7. 
8. 
9. 

], 

2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 



296 William Perfect, 

297 William CockeU, 

298 John Seaton, 

299 Wm. Tomlinson, 

300 John Seaton» 

301 Wm. CockeU, 

302 Wm. Tomlinson, 

303 John Perfect. 

304 Thomas Taylor, 

305 John Seaton, 

306 Wm. Tomlinson, 

307 John Willott, 

308 Thomas Taylor, 

309 Wm. CockeU, 

310 John Perfect, 

311 John Seaton, 

312 John Hepworth, 

313 Wm. Tomlinson, 

314 John Willott, 

315 Grosvenor Perfect, 

316 George Alderson, 

317 Joseph Marshall,. 

318 Thomas Taylor, 

319 Wm. CockeU and 
John Seaton, 



1779. 
1780. 

1. 

2. 

3v 

4. 

5. 



9. 
1790. 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 



1800. 
1. 



320 Wm. Tomlinson, 

321 Robert Seafon, 

322 John Willott, 

323 Joseph Marshall, 

324 Robert Smith, 

325 Edward Trueman, 

326 James Banks, 

327 Joseph Marshall, 

328 Thomas Oxley, 

329 Edward Trueman, 

330 Michael Mitton,, 

331 Wra. Tomlinson, 

332 Chris. Mann Torre, 

333 Joseph- Marshall,- 
.3.S4 Thomas Oxley, t 

335 Edward Trueman, 

336 Michael Mitton, 

GEORGE IV. 

337 Chris. M. Torre, § 

338 Joseph Marshall, |1 

339 Robert Smith, 

340 John Perfect, 

341 Edward Trueman, 

342 Thomas Oxleyj^T 



1810. 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5, 
6. 
7. 
8, 
9, 



1820. 
1. 
2, 



On tlie fourteenth of September, 1825 Josiali Smithson, Esq. was 
elected mayor, but refused to accept the office, when the opinion of aii 



* During the mayoralty of this gentleman, the population of Pontefract, taken obf 
the 24th of April, was'noted to be as follows : — 



Above the bridge. 
Below the bridge, 



Inhabitants, . 
Inhabitants, . 



1250 
1265. 



2515 



f The election of mayor taking place on the eve of a second election fo. members, 
■was followed by verj' tumultuotis proceedings, and the following accounts of this affair 
extracted from the newspapers, may prove suiBciently interesting to have a place r — 

' On Wednesday last, came on at Pontefract, the election of a maj'or for that bor- 
ough, for the year ensuing, when, after a good deal of riotous proceedings, such as break- 
ing windows, &c. two gentlemen were chosen to serve that office, viz. Mr Alderman 
Crewe, by Lord Galway's, and Mr. Alderman Fox, by Sir R. Winn's party ; which of 
them will be the acting magistrate, or whether they intend to commence a temporary 
partnership is not known ; but the whole town was, when this account was written, alt 
in confusion and uproar.' — From the Leeds Paper, September twentieth, 1768. 

* Last Thursday, William Crewe, Esq. was sworn into the office of mayor for this 
town. On his coming out of court some disorderly persons attempted to force from him 
his gown and wand, and threw him down ; and at night a mob assembled before his 
house, aad with large stones, broke his windows, and beat down all the shutters'. They 
would probably have proceeded to farther mischief, had not a guard of military come 
vip and prevented it. The mob, notwithstanding, afterwards demolished many windows 
in other parts of the town. Several of the rioters are apprehended, some of whom are 
bound over to York Assizes, and others committed to York Castle.' — Extract of a letter 
from Pontefract, dated October 1, inserted in the London Chronicle, of October 4th 1768. 

t On the third of IMarch in this year, James Coleman was elected town clerk and 
clerk of the peace. 

§ This gentleman died at his house in Pontefract, in the year 1825, and was buried 
in the interior of the church of St. Giles. 

II In the year 1825 this gentleman departed this life, and was interred in the 
burial ground of the church of All Saints. 

% The following is a list of the aldermen of Pontefract>. with the names of the 
places of their residence, and the date of their creation : — 



John Seaton, Pontefract, cr. July 23, 1781 , 
Wm. Tomlinson, Ferybridee, cr. August 

20, 1781. 
George Alderson, Ferrybridge, cr. July 16, 

R. Seaton, Wentbridge, cr. March 1, 1803. 
R. Smith, Pontefract, cr. August 27, 1806. 
Ed. Trueman, Pontefract, Sept. 14, 1807. 



Thos. Oxley, Pontefract, cr.Sept. 11, 1810; 
M- Mitton, Pontefract, cr. Sept. 13, 1810. 
R. P. Milnes, Thorne, cr. June 17, 1811. 
Ld. Vic, Pollington, Methley, cr. August 

13, 1814, 
J. Perfect, Pontefract, cr, Dec. 16, 1822. 
Josiah Smithson, Pontefract, Aug. 20, 1825. 
James Muscroft, Pontefract, Ang.20, 1825. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. ^^ 

eminent barrister, in London, was taken, and the burgesses were ad- 
vised to apply to the court of king's bench for a writ of mandamus to 
'-compel him to shew cause ^^Tiy he refused to serve the office. This 
ibeing obtained, Mr. S. stated, that he was disqualified from serving the 
office, by reason of his not having taken the sacrament within one 
whole 5'^ear previously to his election, as is required by st. 13 Car. 2, st. 
2. c. 1, s. 12, and therefore would not subject himself to the penalties 
Imposed by law on persons taking upon themselves such office without 
that qualification. In consequence of this, the court discharged the rule 
against him, and granted, at the same time, the following peremptory 
mandamus, ordeiing the corporation to proceed to tlie election of a 
new mayor - — 

GEORGE the Fourth by the grace of God, of the united kingdoirr 
/of Great Britain and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, to the mayor, 
-aldermen, and burgesses of the borough or village of Pontefract, in 
rour county of York, and to every of them. Greeting, WHEREAS, the 
said borough or village of Pontefract, is an ancient borough or village, 
and the mayor and burgesses of the said borough or village now are, 
and for divers, to wit, ten years now last past and upwards, have been 
and were one body corporate and politic, in deed, fact, and name, by 
4;he name of the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough or 
village of Pontefract, in the county of York, and. for and during -all the 
time aforesaid, there hath been, or ought to have been, and still of 
right ought to be within the said borough or village, a mayor of the said 
borough or village yearly, on the feast of Holy Cross, that is to say, on 
'.the fourteenth day of September in every year, to be nominated and 
elected into that office, to serve in the same office for one whole year, 
to commence and be computed from the feast of Saint Michael the 
archangel, then next following after such nomination and election. 
And whereas, we have been given to understand in our said court be- 
fore us, that on the feast of Holy -Cross, that is to say, on the four- 
teenth day of September, now last past, being the day so appointed 
for the said election of a mayor of the said borough or village, as afore- 
said, no election was had or made of a mayor of the said borough or 
village for the present year ; nor was any election had or made of 
a mayor of or for the said borough or village, on the day next after the 
said feast of Holy Cross now last past, pursuant to the directions of the 
statute in such case made and provided ; nor hath any election of a 
mayor of or for the said borough or village been since at any time had 
or made as we have also been given to understand in our said court 
.before us, in contempt of us and to the great hindrance and obstruc- 
tion of public justice within the said borough or village. WE, there- 



60 . HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

fore, being willing that due and speedy justice should be done in the 
premises as it is reasonable, DO COMMAND you the said mayor, 
aldermen, and burgesses, of the said borough or village, and every of 
you, firmly injoining you, that you and every of you, having a right 
to vote, or be present at, or to do any other act necessary to be done, 
in order to the election of a mayor of the said borough or village, do 
upon Friday, the ninth day of December, next, at Eleven of the clock 
in the forenoon of the same day, assemble yourselves together in the 
moot-hall of the said borough or village, or in some other convenient 
place within the same borough or village ; and that being so assembled 
you do then and there according to your authority in that behalf I'e- 
spectively, proceed to the nomination and election of a mayor of the 
said borough or village for the residue of the present year^ to be com- 
puted frohi the feast day of St. Michael the archangel now last, and 
that you and every of you, do every act necessary to be done by you 
or any of you, in order to such election, pursuant to the statute in such 
case made and provided. AND that such of you to whom the same 
doth of right belong, do administer to the person who shall be so elect- 
ed into the said office, the oath for the due and faithful execution of 
the said office, and all other oaths in that case usually administered 
and taken. And that you or such of you to whom the same doth of right 
belong do admit or cause to be admitted the same person into the said 
place and office of mayor of the said borough or village, together with all 
the liberties, privileges, and franchises thereunto belonging and ap- 
pertaining. And that you and every of you do every other act neces- 
sary to be done by you or any of you in order to complete the said 
election, pursuant to your authority in that behalf respectively, and 
pursuant to the directions of the statute in such case made and pro- 
vided ; or that you shew us cause to the contrary thereof, lest by your 
default, the same complaint should be repeated to us. And how you 
shall have executed this our writ make known to us at Westminster on 
Monday next after the octave of St. Hilary, then returning to us this 
our said Writ, and this you are not to omit. Witness, Sir Charles 
Abbott, knight, at Westminster, the twenty-eighth day of November, 
in the sixth year of our reign. 

By rule of Court. 

By the Comt, 

LUSHINGTON. 

The election accordingly took place in the moot-hall, on Friday 
the 9th of December, when Thomas Oxley, Esq. was chosen to fulfil 
the office for the remaining part of the year. 



Hf STORY OF PONTEFRACT. 01 

Having thus given a list of all the mayors of the borough, placed 
according to the year in which they were chosen, and from the 
period of incorporation by Richard III. down to the present time, 
I shall subjoin a list of the representatives to the senate house, 
from the period in which the borough was restored to its ancient 
honours. Although no list be extant of higher antiquity than the reign 
of James I.; yet it is asserted, 'that the journals of the house incon- 
testibly prove that Pontefract sent members to parliament in the reign 
of Edward I.* ; and Tetlow, in his historical account of the place, says, 
* that it supported representatives in the 23d and 27th years of the 
reign of Edward III.' 

LIST OF THE 

REPRESENTATIVES TO PARLIAMENT. 



18 JAMES I. 1620. 16 CHARLES I. 1641. 

George Skillet. Sir G. Wentworth, of WooUey 

Edmund Sandys, junior. Park. 

22 JAMES I. 1624. Sir G. Wentworth, of Went- 

Sir Thomas Wentworth. worth House. 

Sir H. Holcroft.* 21 charles I. 1646. 

1624. Henry Arthington. 

Sir Thomas Wentworth. William White. 

Sir John Jackson. 11 charles ij. 1658.1: 

1 CHARLES I. 1625. John Lord Lambert. 

Sir John Jackson. John Hewley. 

Sir Richard Beaumont.f 1660. 

1626. Sir George Saville.§ 

Sir John Jackson. William Lowther. 
Sir Francis Foljambie. 

4 CHARLES I. 1629. 1668. 

Sir John Jackson. Sir John Dawney. 

Sir John Ramsden. William Lowther. 

15 CHARLES I. 1640. 1678. 

Sir John Ramsden.„ Sir John Dawney. 

Sir G. Wentworth. Sir Patientius Ward. 



* In consequence of Sir H. Holcroft being returned member for another borough, 
a second election took place for the borough of Pontefract, when Sir Richard Beaumont 
and Sir John Jackson offered themselves as candidates. After an arduous struggle. Sir 
John Jackson took his seat in the house, and Sir R. Beamont petitioned. The petition 
being referred to the committee of privileges, Mr. Glanville reported on the tv^'enty- 
eighth of May, 1624, two points for Pontefract : * Firstly, — Who were the electors ? 
Resolved by the committee, there being no charter nor prescription for choice, the elec- 
tion to be made by the inhabitants, householders resiants. Secondly, — ^The committee 
resolved that no burgess duly chosen, and a new warrant was issued for a new choice.' 
It is, however, uncertain which gentleman was chosen by the inhabitants on the 
issue of this new writ. 

t Sir R. Beaumont died during the year, and Sir F. Foljambie was elected in his 
place . 

t The names of all the members up to this year, are extracted from Willis's 
Notitia Parliamentaria. 

§ At this election, three members were returned in the burgage tenure interest ; 
and the committee reported on the 16th of May, , that upon examination of the fact, it 
appeai-ed that Sir t,George Saville and William Lowther had the greatest number of 
voices, and ought to sit,' and it was therefore resolved aocordingly. 



62 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



1 JAMES II. 1685. 

Lord Downe. 

Sir Thomas Yarborough. 

1688. 
Lord Downe. 
Sir Thomas Yarborough. 

2 WILLIAM III. 1690. 

Sir John Bland. 
Henry Downe. 

1695. 
Sir William Lowther. 
Robert Moncton. 
1698.* 
John Bright. 
Sir John Bland. 

1701 and 1702. 
W. Lowther. 
Sir John Bland. 
3 and 6 anne, 1705 and 1708. 
W. Lowther. 
Sir John Bland. 
1710. 
Robert Frank. 
Sir John Bland. 
1713. 
Robert Frank.-f- 
John Dawney. 

2 GEORGE I. 1715. 
Hugh BetheU. 

Sir William Lowther, 



9 GEO. I, 1722 and 
1 GEORGE II. 1727. 
John Lowther. 
Sir William Lowther, 

1734. 
Lord Galway. 
Sir William Lowther. 

1741. 
Lord Galway. 
George M. Pitt. 

1747. 
W. Moncton. 
Georsre M. Pitt. 
^ 1754. 

Lord Galway. 
Sambroke Trueman. 

2 GEORGE III. 1761. 
Lord Galway. 
William Gerard Hamilton.! 

1768. 
Lord Galway.§ 
Sir Rowland Winn. 

1768. 
Lord Galway. 
Henry Strachey. 

1774. 
Sir John Goodricke-, 
C. Mellish. 

1780. 
Lord Galway.^ 
William Needham. 



* At the close of this election, Sir R. Moncton, the unsuccessful candidate peti- 
tioned the house, against the party of Sir John Bright, for dividing one burgage into 
four by sham conveyances; but it being proved, that illegal practices had been resorted 
to by both parties, the committee resolved, ' that the right of election was agreed to be 
in such persons as have inheritance, or freehold of burgage tenure v>^ithin the said bor- 
ough.' Neither gentleman being therefore declared duly elected, a second election 
took place, and Sir John Bright being again returned, R. Moncton presented another 
petition, when the dissolution of parliament, put an end to further procedings. 

t The candidates at this election were four in number, viz. John Dawney, Robert 
Frank, Sir William Lowther, and Hugh Bethell. The two latter gentlemen petitioned 
aganst the election of the two former ones, and on the evidence being produced, it ap- 
peared ' that Robert Lowther, the mayor, Mr. Frank, the recorder, and Mr. Abbott, the 
town-clerk, had refused to admit many legal votes for the petitioners, and had admitted 
many illegal ones for the sitting members,' and the house therefore resolved, that the 
sitting members were not duly elected, but that the petitioners were the successful can- 
didates. 

t The names of the representatives from the time of the restoration, are extracted 
from Wentworth, and the remainder are from the journals. 

§ Lord Galway and Heni-y Strachey, Esq. (w*io appeared on the burgage tenure 
interest,) were opposed at this election by Sir R. Winn, at the solicitation of the in- 
habitants, and on his being duly elected,' Lord Galway and Mr. Strachey petitioned the 
house, stating, ' that the returning officer had been compelled by force to jeturn Sir R. 
Winn, and that 180 burgesses would have voted, had they not been intimidated by the 
fury of the populace.' The house then resolved, ' that the counsel be confined to pro- 
ceed only upon the allegations of the said petitions which complain of the freedom of the 
said election being disturbed by rioters,' and, consequently, the election of Sir R. Winn 
was conisdered void. Lord Galway and Henry Strachey were then returned on the bur- 
gage tenure interest, and Sir R. Winn petitioned. His claims were adjourned repeatedly 
until the 7th of February, 1770, when the house resolved, ' that the right of election for 
members to serve in parliament for the borough of Pontefract, in the county of York, is 
in persons having within the said borough, a freehold of burgage tenure, paying a bur- 
gage rent.' 

% Lord Galway having accepted of the envoyship to Munich in the year 1783, va- 
cated his seat, and J. Smyth, Esq. of Heath, stood forward in opposition to the burgage 
tenure interest, and being unsuccessful, he petitioned the house, when on the 11th of 
April he gained hii Section, and took hii seat accordingly. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 63 

1784. 1807. 

J. Smyth. R. P. Milnes.f 

Colonel Sotheron. Lord PoUington. 

1790. 1812. 

J. Smyth.* R.P. Milnes.t 

Colonel Sotheran. H. Lascelles. 

1796. 1812. 

J. Smyth. R. P. Milnes. 

Lord Galway. Lord PoUington. 

1802. 1818. 

J. Smyth. Lord Pollingtonf 

R. Benyon. T. Houldsworth. 

1806.. 1 GEO. IV. 1820. 

J. Smyth. T. Houldsworth. 

R. P. MilneSi Lord PoUington. 

Pontefract has given the honorable title of Earl, to George Fermor, 
Lord Leominster, D.C.L.§ as well as that of Baron, to a branch of 
the very ancient and noble family of Saville, of Howley. Sir John 
Saville, knight, was, by letters patent, dated on the 24th day of July, 
1628, in the fourth year of the reign of Charles I. created baron, by the 
title of Lord Saville, baron of Pontefract.\\ His son Thomas, who 
zealously advocated the caitse of Charles, and was with him at Oxford, 
when that city was besieged, was advanced to the dignity of earl of 
Sussex, ^f and lord president,** 17 Charles I. 1644. The paternal offices 
were inherited by his son James, who died without issue, and, conse- 
quently, these honours became extinct. 

* J. Smyth, Esq. vacated his seat in the year 1792, by accepting the office of one of 
the lords of the admiralty, and again in the year 1794, by accepting the office of one of 
the lords of the treasury, and was re-elected each time without opposition. 

t At this election, Lord PoUington, R. P. Milnes, Esq. and the Hon. J. Smyth, 
offered themselves as candidates, when after an arduous struggle, the two former were 
duly elected ; and he who had been the representative of the borough for a period of 
twenty-three years, and had securely established all the rights and privileges of the in- 
habitants, now found himself the unsuccessful candidate. His past services have, how- 
ever, endeared him to every bosom, and so long as the elective franchise be deemed a 
privilege, so long will the name of Smyth be associated with the freedom of the borough. 

t in consequence of the Hon. Henry Lascelles being returned member for the 
county, he vacated his reat, and a second election taking place. Lord Viscount Polling- 
ton was, after an arduous struggle, declared duly elected. These two contested elections 
were very spirited, and lasted about thirteen weeks, commencing on the twenty- 
fifth day of September, and ending on the twenty-third day of December. 

§ He was created Baron Leominster, I2th April 1792, and Earl of Pomfret, 21st Dec. 
1721. — Arms: argent, a fess betwixt three lions' heads couped. Crest: a cock's head 
surmounting the coronet. Supporters :■ two lions rampant, on a scroll : ' Hora e sem^pre.* 

II Sir John Saville, of Howley, was knight of the shire of York, in divers parlia- 
ments of king James L and king Charles 1. and was one of the members of the privy 
council of the latter king. He was descended from the famous Sir John Saville, of El- 
land, who was eschaetor tor the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, and West- 
moreland, in the days of Richard IL ; as well as sheriff of Yarkshire and governor of 
York castle. 

i[ Cam. Mag, Brit. vi. 390. Baker's Chron. Catalogue of Nobility. 

** At the death of Thomas Wentworth, earl of Strafford, lord president^ the king 
granted a warrant to constitute as president, Thomas viscount Saville, baron of Ponte- 
fract and Castle-Barr; yet, it appears, that he did not act in so high a station. The 
authority was wrested from him, without the royal consent, as appears from, the 
speech of the king at York, wherein he declared, 'that nothing had passed under his 
hand, for the dissolution of that council, of which the lord president was the chief. — 
Gent's Hist, of Yorks. 8vo. 1733, pp. 151 et seq. The mansion of the noble family of 
Saville, at Howley, was deemed not inferior to any building in England for magnificence. 
It was, however, like many others, plundered and entirely destroyed by the parliamenta- 



64 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



SECTION IV. 

J. HE Lascies, and other noble possessors of Pontefract, lived in a de- 
gree of splendour little inferior to that of the greatest kings. They had 
their privy councellors, seneschalls, marshalls, constables, chaplains, 
heralds, poursuivants, giiards, pages, minstrels, and, in a word, all the 
officers of a royal court. Their retainers and vassals wore their live- 
ries and badges, and were very numerous. They swelled the retinue 
of their chieftan on occasions of the greatest solemnity, attended 
him in his journies, and followed him to the field of war. 

The seneschalls* were specially appointed to preside at the courts 
of these barons, manage their demesne lands, receive the rentals of the 
estate, and superintend the affairs of the household ; the executive 
part of the duty devolving upon an inferior ofiicer, called a sub-sen e- 
schaU. 

The following list, extracted from the Coucher book of the Abbey 
of Pontefract, clearly demonstrates the high offices of seneschall and 
constable, as being fulfilled by great and noble personages. Ponte- 
fract frequently possessed two of these officers at the same period ; 
for some were appointed by the noble lords of Pontefract, and had the 
management of all their estates, whilst others were employed as sene- 
schalls to the royal possessions only, in Pontefract. 

OF THE 

SENESCHALLS AND CONSTABLES OF PONTEFRACT. 

Those marked thus * are constables. 

EUDO DE LONGVILLERS seneschallus. Fuit testis cum Gil- 
berto de Lascy ; qui Gilbert vixit cum Roberto Wallensi et Hugone 
Priore. 

ROBERTUS WALLENSIS seneschallus Rogeri de Lascy, 11 
Johannis, 1209, cum Adamo de Kamvil constabulario, p. 38. Fuit 

* Seneschall, senescalcxbs, senescliallus, was a name anciently used for a steward; 
formed from the German word scind, a house or family, and scale, a servant. The term 
seneschallus was used by the ancients, indifferently vnth that of ilapifer, which being de- 
rived from the words a dopes ferendo, was applied to the head officer, as well in the 
palaces of princes, as in the houses of private persons ; and hence we are sure it signi- 
fies a steward or bailiff of a lord or baron. — Spelmax. They used to preside over the 
shire-gemot or folk-mote, which was one of the chief Anglo-Saxon courts and was 
held twice in the year. Eveiy thane of the first class had one of these courts, at which 
he determined all matters relating to his vassals, hence arose the court called co«rf baron, 
—Vide Lambarp, on ancient English laws. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 65 

vice-comes,* Ebor. a 6 ad 11 Johannis. Robert was seneschall at 
the same time that he was sherifiF, p. 38. He was lord of the village 
of Burgh, which from his name is now styled Burgh wallis-f 

*SIR ADAM DE KAMVIL was constable during the stewardship of 
Robert Wallensis or Wallys, 4 Henry III. 

LAMPSON seneschallus Robert! de Lascy, 10 Ilenrici II. 1163. 
He was witness with Hugo de Toulston, to the charter of John de 
Friston, to Peter filius Oter, filius Sir Nicholas Hasp. 

ROBERTUS DE CANTABRIGIA vel de KENT seneschallus, 4 
Henrici III. cum Johanne de Birkin, pp. 27 et seq. seneschallus Johan- 
nis de Lascy, constabular. Cestriae ; which must be anterior to the 17 
Hen. III. He was senschall 8 Hen. HI. 1223, etl4 Hen. HI. pp. 44,47. 

DoMiNus HENRICUS WALLENSIS, filius Roberti, seneschallus 
domini constabularii Cestriae. This must have been prior to 17 Henry 
ill. when John constable of Chester, was created earl of Lincoln. 
Henry Wallensis or Wallys, whilst seneschall, was witness to a deed of 
grant from William de Vescy to William the son of Robert Mey, of 
certain lands, messuages, &c. p. 52. 

ALANUS CLERICUS was seneschall about this period, as ap- 
pears from the grant of Matilda, wife of Robert Mey, to which he was 
witness, pp.3 et 51. He was also a witness to other deeds with Henry 
Wallensis, Sir Robert de Stapylton, and Jordon Foliott, pp. 28, 25, 35, 
et48. 

DoMiNus ROBERTUS EBORACI, constabularius, testis cum 
domino Richardo Craven si et domino Roberto de Stapylton.J 

GILBERT DE NOTTON, seneschallus Johannis de Lascy, ante 
Joh. de Birkin et Ada. fil. Thomas de Kamvil vel Keinvil, and Hug-o 
de Pinarna, were witnesses to the deed of Walter son of Adam de Bi- 
run, before Henry Wallensis, 19 Hen. HI. p. 45. Henricus Savile or 
"Sevile, ancestor to the marquis of Halifax; was afterwards a witness 
to the same deed, pp. 45, 52. He was seneschall before John de Lascy, 
constable of Chester, was created earl of Lincoln, vel ante 17 Hen. III. 
as appears by the following witnesses to a deed of Robert Mey. Dom- 
inus Johannis de Lascy, constabularius Cestriee, dominus Hugo de 

* Vice-comes, was the deputy of the alderman, chosen by him. He sat judge iu 
some courts, and saw sentence executed; hence he was called vice-comes. — Selden, 
Howell, Squires. — In the time of Edward the Confessor, a vice-comes was reckoned a 
Icing's officer. This office, Camden asserts, was instituted by king Alfred, — Tan. Ang. p. 
117. The persons who fulfilled the office of vice-comes were generally men of high rank 
and great power in the realm, and had one or mor« counties committed to them, by the 

king, at his pleasure, either in cu&tody, or at a ferm certain, to whom the king usually- 
committed (together with the counties,) his castles and manors lying within the baili- 
wick. They provided the castles v/ith ammunition, and other necessaries, and stocked 
his manors; in short, the vice-comes was the king's farmer or bailiff, and the collector 
-of all the rents and revenues within his district,— Blackstone i. 339 M.^d. ex. 634 et 64&, 
DoM. Boo. Glos. 21. 

t Cam. Mag. Brit. 

* Chartula de Pontif. fol. 32. 



C6 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

rinarna vel Butcler, et Ganfridus de Dvitton tunc seneschalli ipsius 
domini Johannis. So that it is probable that Butcler was senescball of 
Poatefract, and Button senescball of Ms estate in Cheshire. It is also 
noted in the Coucher Book, p. 43, that Pinai-na, the sheriff, and Heniy 
Wfdlensis or Wallys, were witnesses to the grant of William, son of 
Henry de Swillington. 

ADAM DE NEIREFOPvD, seneschallus, testis cum Henrico Wallen- 
si, p. 78, seneschallus, testis cum domino Rogero de Notton, filius Gil- 
berti, p. 73, seneschalhis, testis cum domino Roberto de Stapylton, p. 
55, vice-comes Eboraci, 1246, p. 42, seneschallus comitis, p. 30, testis 
c^artse Clementiae de Longvillers,^2 Hen. IH. Seneschallus comitis 
Johannis, 23 Hen. HI. 1238, p. 4 ; and also witness to a deed of Greave 
lands in Pontefract. 

*DoMiNiis RODERICK, persona de Middleton, constabularius 
cum Waltero de Ludham, senescball about 27 Henry III.* 

WALTERUS DE LUDHA:\I, filius Eustachii de Ludham, testis 
cum Dalmatio piiore de Pontefracto, cum domino Roberto de Ever, 
constabulario ejusdem, p. 32, cum domino Roberto de Stapylton, 27 
Ken. III. 1243, p. 38, cum Job. de Insula, testis chartee R. de Fether- 
ston, 30 Hen. III. 1246, p. 46, testis cum Adamo de Neireford, A-ice- 
comite Eboraci, j). 42. Ganfrid de Ludham, precentor of York, and 
John de Hoderode, were witnesses to a deed drawn betwixt Wal- 
terus de Ludham, and Helyas, son to John de JMedthorp, 36 Hen. III. 
1252.t 

JOHANNIS FILIUS JOHANNIS de HODERODE, seneschallus 
35 Henry III. 1251, p. 42; and he was Avitness to the charter of Ed- 
mund, constable of Chester, 42 Henry III. 1258, et cum domino Hu- 
gone dispensatore, domino Richardo Folgot, domino Ganfrido de Dutton, 
domino Adamo de Novo Mercato, et caet. 55 Henry III. 1271, to a deed 
from Roger de Fetherston to IMaurice de Fetherston, clerk. 

DoMiNUS ROBERTUS KYPUS was senescball with Sir John de 
Hoderode, and was witness to the deed drawn betwixt the prior of St. 
John the Evangelist^ at Pontefract, and the prior of Monk Bretton, p. 19, 

DoMiMS ADAM DE NOVO MERCATO, et PETRUS de SAN- 
TON, were stewards together in the time of Henry III. p. 74, as ap- 
pears by an agreement drawn betwixt the prior of St. John the Evan- 
gelist of Pontefract, and Sir Richard Foliott or Folgot, to which Wm. 
ie Vavasour, constable of Pontefi'act Castle, and the two seneschalls 
with others, are witnesses. 



* Chartula de Pontefracto p.'p. a4. 
t E chai tis Kobcrti Barnby Ac. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 07 

*DoMiNus GULIELMUS VAVASOUR, constabularius cum dom- 
ino Adamo de Novo Mercato seneschallc* 

SIMON DE THORP, seneschallus tempore Edwardi primi, 1282.t 
He was a witness with Sir John de Bek, Thomas de Burgo, Alexander 
de Montforte, and William le Vavasour, knights, to the agreement be- 
twixt the Priors of Pontefract, and Monk-Bretton.J 

* THOMAS HOPEDON, constable 14 Edward I.§ 

SIR JOHN CRESAERE, was seneschall dming the latter part of 
the life of Henry de Lascy, earl of Lincoln. No date of his appoint- 
ment is noted, but he appears to have been seneschall, when he wit- 
nessed the French grant of lands to the priory of Pontefract, in con- 
junction with Sir Robert Fitz-Roger, Sir William le Vavasour, knights, 
and others. He was then styled Sir John Cresaere, seneschall. 1| 

*RADULPHUS DE BRESTON miles, constabularius Castri de 
Pontefracto, 13 Edwardi primi, 1285. 

JOHANNIS TRAVES, seneschallus 7 Edwardi secundi, 1313.«il 

JOHANNIS DE BUCTON, seneschallus domini comitatis Lan- 
castrise. Testis cum domino Gulielmo de Finchden, Johanne Gargra- 
yo, Thomas AUaya, et cset. 14 Edwardi secundi, 1320, IS Edwardi se- 
cundi, 1324. 

THOMAS DE EYVEL, seneschallus 19 Edwardi secundi, 1325, 5 
Edwardi tertii, 1331.** *Thomas de Eyvel appears also to have been 
constable of Pontefract at this time, has he had a warrant to receive 
Philip de la Bek, John de Acton, Robert Dalton, and John Blacket.ff 

DoMiNus GULIELMUS SCARGELL, miles,§§ seneschallus 10 
Edward III. 1347, and 21 Edward III. 1358, seneschal, et ball. After 
John Bosville died or was removed from office, he was again appointed 
seneschall, 18 Edward iri.|l|| 

JOHANNIS RYTHER, seneschallus de Pontefracto, 15 et 17 Ed- 
wardi tertii.§§ 

GULIELMUS SCARGELL, miles, seneschallus. He witnessed 
a deed of Lord Rd. de Fetherston to Simon his son, 17 Ed, III. 1343.^^ 

* Chartula de Pontefracto, f . 74, et seq. 
t Idem, f. 20. 

t Monast. Ang. parte, f. 6. 54. 

§ Folj. A, Chartula de Pontefracto, f. 74. 

II Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum, f. 20. 

f Dod. G. 41. 

** Austwicke's deeds. E chartis Gulielmi Mallett. Dod. MSS. 22. et 42 

tt Claus ii.Dod.b.90. 

§§ Miles, knight, was a military officer, bound by his fee, to serve the kins;, on 
horseback in the wars, or to maintain a soldier there at his own cost and charges where 
the king should require him.— Chauncey, p. 11. A miles, which was a baron, took not 
his name from the military girdle with which knights were invested on their creation, 
but from the military fee, by reason of which he was otherwise called a possessor or free 
tenant. — Cam, Brit. 

II II Austwicke's deeds, aa. 22, et Chartula de Pontefracto. 

H Dod MSS. a 46. 

il^ E chartis Richardi Hippon de Fetherston.— Dod. a 40. 



6S HISTQRY OF PONTEFRACT. 

GANFRIDUS de NOTTON, seneschallus 28 Ed. tertii, anno 1354. 

JOHANNIS DE HODERODE, 30 Edward III. 1356 * 

JOHANNIS DE DYNELEY, die. Sab. prox. post festum sanctr 
Martii pressns, 5 indorso, 31 Edward III. 1357. 

Dominus dux mandat literam suam claiisam GULIELMO de 
FINCHDEN, senescliallo. He was senescliall when Galfred Fol- 
Jam^bie was seneschallus capitalis or chief seneschall, 43 Edwai'd IHv 
1369.t 

GALFRIDUS FOLJAMBIE de WALTON, capitalis seneschal- 
lus cum Derby, miles seneschallus. Hospitii Johannis duci Lancastriae, 
€i consilio suo, 39 et 40 Edwardi tertii, 1364 — 5.^ 

ROBERTUS SWILLINGTON de SVVILLINGTON, miles, capr- 
talis seneschallus, tempore Richardi secundi, arciter 2 R. 11. as appears 
by his complaint against the butchers.§ In this gentleman's time the 
tower of Pontefract castle, called Swillington tower, was erected. 

*SiR JOHN SAVILE, the elder, bachelor, whom John duke of 
Lancaster styles Friend, was constable 21 Richard II. 1397. — There is 
a clause wherein the duke grants to him pardon, for his neglect in 
letting some prisoners escape from the castle. |1 

ROBERTUS WATERTON de JMETHLEY, miles, capitalis sen- 
eschallus tempore Henrici IV.** John Dawney locum tenens, 5 Henry 
IV. — Robertus Waterton^ et Richardus Gascon capitales senesehalli 
regis, duels Lancastriae. 

* John de Hoderode and Sir Nicholas Wortley were patrons of the chiirch of 
Burghv.allis in the 37 Henry III. E chartis Roberti de Barnby. 

t Hopkinson, B. B. p. 33. 

J From Francis Foljambie's accompts. — Dod. C. C. p. 17. 

§ Hopkinson. D. B. 

11 Francis Foljamhie's deeds. 

** Austwicke's deeds. 

*\ The Watertons derive their name from Waterton, in Lincolnshire. They came 
into England at the time of the conquest ; and, have, since that period retained their 
name and estate directly in the male line. In the reign of Henry VI. they possessed 
twenty-foiu- manors in England. They were the founders of the churches of Royston, 
Felchurch, and ISIethley, an"cl of tv.-o otliers in the vicinity ; and were lords of Cavrthorne 
Park. Sir Robert Waterton, seneschall of Pontefract, was master of the horse in the 
several reigns of Henry IV. Henry V. and VI. He had the custody of the duke of Or- 
leans, and other noble "prisoners, taken at the battle of Agincourt; as well as of James I. 

of Scotland, all of whom were confined in the Castle of Pontefract. Tlie Watertons 

were dispossessed of Methley, by king Henry VIII. on their refusing to take the oath of 
supremacy. During the civil commotions of the reign of Chas. I. the troops of the parlia- 
ment encompassed Walton Hall, (the present seat of this noble family,) and broke'down 
tlie draw-bridge; but, being vigorously resisted by the representative of the family, a 
female of undaunted spirit, they reiired after plundering all the country about, and leav- 
in=^ marks of their attack on the gates of the mansion, which remain visible even to this 

fjay. The monumental effigy of Sir Robert Waterton, as well as the monument of 

Lionel, Lord Wells, who married Catherine one of the daughters of this Sir Robert, and 
was slain at Towton, are in the clmrch at Methley. For a beautiful engraving of the 

monument of Sir Robert Waterton. see Dr. Whitaker's Histor\- of Leeds. Sir Robert 

Waterton attended Henry duke of Lancaster, afterwards king heniy IV. in his expedi- 
tion into England to recover his dukedom, xmjustly withheld by the reigning king. His 
name is mentioned by Sliakspeaie in the tragedy of Richard II. The'five daughters of 
of this Sir Robert, worked in tapestry the model for the north window in the cathedjal 
church of York, which is still designated by the name of the '• five sisters." Several of 

the family have also sened tlie office of sheriff. In the quire of Sandal church (one 

of the funeral places of the family) is the following inscription, amongst many others : — 

" Herelieth that incomparable Gentilicoman, Mislris Alice IVattrton, wife to Ml', Water- 
ton, of Walton, Esquire, who diedjtk of March, 1627" 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 69 

ROGER FLOWER, capitalis senescliallus domini regis, ducis 
Lancastriae, 1 Henry V. 1413 * 

ROGER LEAKE, seneschallus, ante 8 Henry V. 1420. 

WILLIAM DE LA PORLE, comes Marchiae et dux Suffolk, capi- 
talis senescliallus, tempore Henrici VI. Thomas Womb well locum 
tenens.f 

JOHANNIS HODERODE de HODERODE, capitalis seneschal- 
lus tempore Edwardi IV.J 

JOHANNIS BYRETOR de KINSLEY, temporibus Edwardi IV. 
etRichardi, III.H 

RICHARD TUNSTALL, miles, capitalis senescliallus, tempore 
Henrici VIII. Henry Grice locum tenens. 

THOMAS LORD D'ARCY, temp. Hen. VIII. under whom was 

Thomas Grice, Esq. j and afterwards Rawson, Esq. and lastly 

Roger Thurgoland. 

HENRY SAVILE de THORNHILL, miles Balnei, capitalis se- 
neschallus tempore Henrici VIII. Thomas Raynold gent, under-stew- 
ard, and after his resignation, the following were in office : — John 
Kays, of Heath, near Wakefield, Francis Talbot, of Shrewsbury, Esq. 
Temporibus Edwardi sexti et Mariae reginse, Sir Thomas Gargrave, 
knight, his learned steward ; and some time John Leigh, gent. 

GEORGE TALBOT, comes Salopiae, et ordinis garterii miles, 
tempore Elizabethi. Franciscus Stringer de Shucleton locum tenens. 

GILBERT TALBOT, comes Salopias, et ordinis garterii, tem- 
poribus Elizabethi et Jacobi. Robert Somerscales and Matthseus Kay, 
locum tenentes. 

LOBERT LOYD, miles, capitalis seneschallus, temporibus Jacobi 
regis et Annas reginae. Gulielmus Richardson locum tenens. 

WILLIAM HERBERT, comes Pembroke, et ordinis garterii, tem- 
pore Jacobi. Gulielmus Richardson et Johannis Rooe locum tenentes. 

JOHANNIS SAVILE, miles, baro de Pontefracto ; et 

THOMAS SAVILE, miles, vice-comes Castle-barr, filius ejus, 
seneschallus tempore Caroli primi. 

WILLIAM, comes Marchiae et dux Novi Castri, (Newcastle,) cap- 
italis seneschallus, temporibus Caroli primi et secundi. Martin us 
Headly locum tenens. 

" Rede, wepe, adore, byrth, bevtie, virtue, grace. 
Here moulded into one from humane eye, 
Are treasured up ; Alice, praise of Slingsbie's race, 
Waterton's glory, who in her progenie 
Illustrious still remains, then cease to mourne, 
Behold her bodie pledge for her retourne." 

On another monument is the following inscription : — 
" Mistris Bridget Waterton, 1637." 

* Chartula de Pontefracto, {.87. 

t Hopkinson's MSS. X Idem. !| Idem. 



70 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

The bailiwick of Pontefract, of which the above seneschalls and 
constables had the management and direction, ^vere frequently farmed 
by inhabitants of the town ; and the first document which can be 
found relative to this, appears to be of the 14th century, in the reign 
Edward III. and is as follows: 

* At the anniversarie institution of the wapontak of Osgodcross, 
held at Grey-stones yn November, 1368, 43 Edward III. John Clerk of 
Pontfract, with Fliodell Green, tooke to farme the bailiwick of Pont- 
fract, with the rent of the borough called burgess farm, the tolofthe 
market and faires, the issue of the court at Scabell-brigg, one bake- 
house, the keepinge of the prison, and aU other profits for six yeares, 
paieing xlviij/i. ; the milne at Casterford and piscarie, \\li; and the 
milne of Knottingley and piscarie, xxiiij^^ per annum. J. Clerk de- 
sired to have an abatement of xxxZi of the yearlie rent, but yt was not 
granted; as a Mr. Thomas Elys gave Ixxvij/i for it; beside which, 
the milne of Casterford lett to Thomas Wrangbroke for viijZi, and 
the milne of Knottingley to John Clerk, for xxvij/*.— William Finch- 
den, sen.' 

In the augmentation office was a release in fee, dated 11 Richard 
II. 1387, from Peter Bailie, of Pontfract, to WiUiam Douke, vicar of 
the church of Pontfract, John de Newthorp, Roger de Hackworth, 
John de Harpeswell, and John Marchande, de Ferribrigg, chaplains of 
lands, tenements, rents, and services in the towns of Pontfract, Went- 
brigg, and Thorp-Hamelyne. — Witnessed by Thomas Elys, William 
Baylay, Thomas Maunsell, Henry de Bubwith, Robert Fang, William 
Shepherd de Thorp-Hamelyne, and many others. Dated at Pontfract, 
11 Richard II. 1387.' 

' Thomas Stonor, de Pontfract, John Queldrick, John Pigborn, and 
John Catelyne, took of Robert Waterton, seneschall, temp. Henrici IV. 
to farme the bailiwick, and the privilege of carryinge the rod ; ffrom 
whence a white staff is carried by the mayor, in token of his being bai- 
liff and sheriff of the village,) together with the rentes and farme of 
the saide village, the common bakehouse, keepinge of the prison, and 
faldage within the site of the manour of Tanshelf, in time of the 
faires, — all tols, stals of the fyshe, with the perquisites of the courte 
for three yeares, paieing lxviiij/^■. for carryinge the rod ii/i ; and for 
the common bakehouse xl\j*. viijc?.' 

In the 7th year of Henry IV. and during the time that Robert 
Waterton, of Methley, was seneschall, other persons agreed to farm 
the bailiwick, as appears by the fallowing extract : — 

Mr. Wakfield, Jno.Hipperor, Jno. Browne, Jno. Potter, Rob, Frost, 
Nicholas Flescher, Henry Smith, John Frost, John Sexton, John Wak- 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 71 

field, Thomas Draper, William Shrive and John Pigborn, tooke to 
farm the bailiwick of Robertus Waterton, seneschall. 

Of the half yearly rentals of the bailiwick is the following curious 
account, inscribed in an old roll ; and although it is without date, yet 
as the name of Robert de Stapylton is mentioned, we may fairly 

suppose it to be in the reign of Henry III, as Robert lived about this 
period, and was a witness to different deeds with Adam de Neireford, 
and Alanus Clericus, seneschalls. 

* The farme, tols, and perquisites of markets and faires, xls. stal- 
lage, xd. the farme of Inglisther, xviij^i. xiij*. iob. The farme of the 
mores, cxJ5. the bakehouse, xlvj*. viijd. the farm of Pipard, xiij^. the 
lands of Winckon, vj*. Simon filius Simoni for the land of St Giles, 
xxiiijeZ. ob. Simon de Rupe, iiij,s. Roger Crossland, xxiiij<?. John 
Gledhall, xv]d. Henrie Dickson, vjd. Robert de Stapylton, xijd, Wil- 
liam de Bateley, xxid. William de Rothely, xxxvjf?. Renald Rode, 
xxxv^d. Alexander de Thirn, xxiiij^. for a house in Bon-gate, xxxvjc?. 
Hugone de Fraxiuo, v^d. Ema de Cole, xv}d. John de Lover, id. for 
a place under the castell, xviijc?. Richard Piper, xxivd. Edward 
F * * * id. John Chappell, id. the fisherye of Haider, y]d. Simon 
Knot, viiijd. the forge nere the church of All-saints, iu}d. the forge 
nere the castell, iij<?. Johannis filius Thomasi, iiijc?. Gulielmus filius 
Thomasi, xijc?. Michael le Cordwainer, iiijc?. Richard Chipping, iijd. 
Simon Arger, xijd. Johannis filius Warini, xiijf?. for two houses, the 
propertie of Roger earl Lardiner, vs. for a tenement of the prior of 
Pontfract, xix^. i\i]d. Richardus Proffit, et Henricus Ker filius Petri 
de Selby, et Matilda.de Charmiston, xij5.' 

The following list of rents is extracted fi'om a mass of ancient 
manuscripts supposed to be collected by the celebrated antiquarian 
Johnson, and now deposited in the library at Campsall. The MSS. is 
dated 8 Henry V. and 3 Henry VI. and is as follows : — 

' Rentes ofAssyse, Free Tenants and Natives ofTanshelf, Carlton, and West-Hardwicke. 
Ninetene oxgangs* in Carlton paie xi}s. \i]d. Foure oxgangs w** 
theire workes and customes, lviJ5. viijc?. w'» other small rentes in Carle- 
ton, xxxvjc?. fiftie-five oxgangs in Medeley, w'' the worke of the ten- 
ants, i*. twentie oxgangs in Hoghton, fifteen oxgangs in Casterford, 
and thertie-five oxgangs in Ledston, w^ the mowinge, makeinge, and 
carrieinge the lord's haye and corne, for the mess'ge and tenements of 
of the mastre of the hospitall of Saint Nicholas, in Medeley, Casterford, 

* OxGANG, hovata terras, not any certain number of acres. In Mad. 273, it is thus 
noted • — • vmam bovatam terrse de decern acris,' and in Cart. Antiq. ' duas bovatas ter- 
ras m Saltonstall qiise continent in se 25 acres.' — In Hearne's collection, it has the same 
Mgnification as hideland ; and was sometimes called by the various terms of knight'i-fee, 
hideland, ploughland, and yardland.— Cokk. 



72 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

a^ ' Hoghton, m-i> theyie inclosur in the parke of Pontfract, released 
to them in alle, xvli. xyjs. iid. The farm of x\s. for the fuUinge milne 
atte Casterford, and a littelhowse called FuUect, alle at (he reparashon 
of the tenant, owte of the wode and hrushe-wode of the lorde. And 
the lord shall kepe in repare the mill-dam and baye and close at hys 
propper costes. For the site of the capital howse ther, vi*. and for the 
waste landes and for the mynes of marie, vii^. savinge to the farmer of 
the village of Pontfract, the easements for the faires, held yearlie on 
the vigel of saint Trinity j and for the imparkeing the bestes gysted in 
the parke of Pontfract, and dryven ther att the feste of saint Michael, 
as well as the fallage ther, nothing. The fulling milne in the thyrde 
yere of the raigne of Richard the second lett for xvj^. viij^f. but now 
nothing ; for the defect of the same, a rose. For the farm of Nicholas 
Walker, for one Kallect at Swallow-green, upon the bankes of the 
river E^tc, over anent the milne, iiud. For the farm of a garden, 
called appleyard, xiii^. iiud. For the croppes of ten acres of meddowe 
in northe milne holmes, lett to the tenants of Kyp&x, xvis. viiid. For 
the farm in south milne felde, xviiii*. ii^. for everie acre xxd. and no 
more for the great increase of water. For the croppe of twelve acres 
xlvs. and for the croppe of three acres, buttinge upon the bankes of the 
waters of the river Eyre, for the provost of Kj-pax, and for the deere in 
the parke, xvs. Of the prior of saint John the Evangelist, for the 
croppe of one acre in Ledston Thorn, v*. and for the croppe of six acres 
in Long-acres, xxiiii^. which used to be xxxs. For the gystment of cat- 
tle belonginge to the fortresse of Pontfract, in the parke duringe the 
somer, lxvi<^. For boughes cutte down for the manetenance of the 
deere in the parke at Pontfract, xiiiili. xs. For the croppe of grass, 
wode and bark of oakes felled or blown doun, yiiili. of the marie pits 
this year nothing ; For the farm of the pastur of one close w** the parke 
xxi*. Perquisites of the courte, xlvi*. viic^. 

' Out of these rents wei-epaid. 

To the parke-keeper at K^-^ax, for the kepinge of the meddowe of 
Casterford, vi^. and for keepinge the fennes, vs. given to the dene of the 
chappell of saint Clement w"^ the castell, for hys tythes, xx*. to the 
farmer of the wynde-milne in Tanshelf, xxiiiic?. to the master of the 
hospitall of saint ISicholas in Pontfract, for tenne gystes in the parke, 
xiiii*. xiiid. wages paid to a woman for washjmge the napkyns and 
towells for the servants of the king, iid. and for six cuppes boughte for 
them. Hid. fifteen wain lode of wode owt of Pontfiact more, for the use 
the king's auditor duringe the moneths of November and December, 
for eche loade Hid. and for other services, xxxii^. ivd. oh. — for the 
makeinge a new paire of gates for the entraunce of Hardwicke gate to 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 73 

the parke, and other costes about the parke, Ixiv*-. \d. ob. — for a car- 
penter foure dales makinge a new Taifald, at ivd. ob. per diem, and for 
carryinge lodes of stones from the kings quarrie to the lodge at \\d. 
per lode — wages to two carpenters for fellinge underwode in Hack- 
worthe parke, and makynge thereof unura, * ********* 
* * * * viii^. — wages to one man for cuttinge bowghes offe sevrall tres 
in Pontfract park, for maneteineinge the deere in winter, cxx daies 
at nd. per dale. For two shodde waines boughte, xIys. \vd. For a 
waine carrieinge sparres from the grove, for bareinge a quarrie at 
Hundhill, and gettinge the stone for the newe bildinge of the common 
bakehouse, vli. xs. For wages to workemen, bareinge and get- 
tinge stone in the quarrie at Oldgate for the mill-dam, cxx wain lodes 
at id. per lode gettinge, and id. per lode carrienge.' 

' The summe of alle expenses was Iviiili. iis. iid. levinge a surplus 
of xxiiili. viiis. ivd. Dated 8 Henry V. 1419. 

[Signed,] RICHARD RAYNOR, King's provost. 

THOMAS SOMERSCAI^ES, Auditor. 

* Ther ys noted alsoe one vennel in littell-lane, latelie demised to 
John Guiseborough, of Pontfract, towards Tanshelf barr, which used to 
paie xxivd. but now on account of yts falleinge intoe deeaie it paies 
nothinge.— Dated 3 Henry VI. 1424.' 

' Nov. 4, 3d. Eliz. 1560. 

* Thes rental mayd y^ ivth day of Novaumber, in y« thyrd yere of 
the rayne of our soveran ladie Elizabeth by the grace of God, quene of 
Englond, Fraunce, and Irelond, defender of y« faythe, &c. than Rych- 
ard Wylbore beynge mayer of ye burughe of Pounefret.* 

' John Stage for Smythe lande xvd. — y« same fer a garthe of Wyl- 
cocke's in Gylegate, viiid. — Aid. Lenrd. Helay for lytstar lande, viii*. 
— John Haryson for his howse y' Robt. Brkby dueleth in ii,$. vid. — ye 
same for .mulct lande, ii*. iid. ob. — Hary Walker for a howse y* he 
dueleth in, of Hustcroft, xd. — Ry. Rycarson for his lande, xvd. — ^Thos. 
Edryngtone for his lande, iis.y^ same for Vayv^^sor lande, xiid. y*" same 
for fayther lande \id. p. 210. Sr. Rye. Rydall for his howse of monc- 
hil, xiid. Robert Farre, for his howse in the new market place, 
xxd. — y^ same for howse in Ropyr-gate, xiid. y^ same for a howse in 
nor-gate, vid. ye the same for xxx acres of lande,^ viiid. y« same for a 
croft in Rop-gate, xiid. — Jo. Enflory for a laythe in southgate, xiiic?. Tho. 
Cowper. p. 211. Willj^am Roberts for a howse and lande of Thomas 
Holgate, xxi«^. the same for garthe in sothegate of Thomas Holgate, 
vid. the same for gester rent of his side of his howse, viiid — Uxor Hyde 
for Wentforthe lande, and the howse y* she dueleth in, xviiid. the same 
for half a burgeish in baxr. gate of hur owne, vid — Edmund Tyes, the 
yonger, for his howse he duelleth in of Rye, Jackson, ixr/. the same 
L 



/^ HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

for an orcharde y» was Root. Golbrotters, xviiicf. — Petr Eddrynton for a 
qrtr burgage at Gely-gate end uid. the same for a gartlie late Petr 
Wakefieide, xnd. — Rye. Coper for his howse anent the malt mills, vi«\ 
— Robert Cok* for his close in Temalyngs, xvkl. the same for qrtr bur- 
gage in sothegate, iild. p. 212. — Stevene Esby for his howse he duelleth 
in, xud. the same for his taverne-hal, ivd. for a howse nent him on the 
sothe side, vid. for his milnes, vi^. — William Milner for the qrtr bur- 
gage in Norgate ixd. the same for three acres of lande in the waterfall, 
ivd. — William Hall for howse in Woddroff, xiid. — Uxor Hunste for 
howse uid. — Sr. Ry. Rediall for his howse of morej-hill, xlid. — Co. Har- 
riartere for his real, xxiii*. vmd. for Alyson Allot ho%vse, xiid. — ^Thos. 
Stabill, xiid. p. 213. — Ry. Taton for his howse of hyndes, \id. for howse 
of benefang, v*. — Michael Goneson for howse under the castelle, viiirf. 
— Tho. Markeson, ix<7. — Ry. Simsire, clerk, for howse in micklegate, 
iii<^. — Pustlewat for howse he duelleth in of the arye ** of Sr. B**urto, 
ns. — Jo. Johnson for a howse of Sr. John Dyxon, in Norgate, xii<f — Jo. 
Govare for the two burgages in Micklegate, of Bankes, ii*. for half a 
burgage in Lenard's-lane end, xiid. p. 214. — John Hogson for howse in 
Ropgate, vid. — Robert Jackson for howse in fen-call ings, xvid. — Ro- 
bert Poule for garthe at the castell side. Hid. for a qrtr burgage, Hid. — 
Peter Dockett for his howse, xiic?. for hys lande, vd. — Harry Walker 
for the howse y' he duelleth in, of the aryes of Hoscovell, ixd. — Neco- 
las Braster for the howse of Ceester Brobanks, ii^. ivd. for other landes, 
&c, xxiii^. p. 215. — Johannus Batman, xlvd. — John IMassee, xxid. — 
Miles Merriby, vid. — Jo. Grant for hys rente, xi*. id. — John Jackson, 
vid. — Petr Johneson, xivd. — ^William Grant, xviiirf. — Willyam Poule-, 
for the howse in Ropgate, xxivrf. p. 216. — Rye, Dye, for **** more 
rent, vi*. vd. — John H unter, vi\rd. — William Moberley, iii^. xd. — Joha 
Shepton, viii*. viid. — Uxor Hammond for her close in the waterfall, vie?, 
and for full acourt, ivd. 217. — Thomas Eddryngton, iii^. vid. — John Eu- 
lay for the aryes of scules, vid. for other landes, &c. xvid. — Rye. Man- 
feld, xiirf. — Uxor Gelbrotter, viiid. — Haland Handray for the charitre 
land in Potwelles^ y^ was Rousworthis, ii.y. iiiirf. for lande in Benet- 
ynges, xxd. — Uxor Grave, xxivrf. p. 219. — Aid. EdmondTyes, for landes 
in norgate, westefield, pruston-rowe, parke-side, viiis. — John Sheletoe, 
rid. — Aid. Ed. Rusbye, iii^. id. — Tho. Emonson, xvid. — James Brere- 
cleflFe, xxviiirf. — Uxor Wyle, for my ladie Tonsaile landes, viii^. — Boni- 
face Sa^'ige, aid. xiii^. ix6f. — Thomas Atkinson, \d<f. p. 220.— Ranold 
Gobson and others, xxviii*. ixd. p. 221. — Robert Towrnor, xxvd. — Thos. 
Austwicke, &c. xxvi^. idd. oh. p. 222.— Uxor Thwaites for her howse in 
the markyt sted, xiid. — ^Xtopher Cotes for his howse anent the castell, 
xiiiirf. and other tenants whose rentes amount to the somme of 



HISTORY OF PONTKFRACT. 7^ 

miili. xvm. ixd. oh. 227 y — J**** Ruston, iii*. viie?. 06.— John Olfield for 
burgage in norgate, \\d. for howse at Hal-Hallas, ii*. for other landes, 
xvii</. p. 228, — Antone Barb ye, viiif. x*?. — Thomas Brogton, \\\d. p. -229. 
— Rye. Bubvvithe for hys rent, vs. xd. — Alan Lake, for a h<jwse of 
***** v'nid. — Uxor Tyes for half a burgage at Harryt-well, vi^. — John 
Kaye for hys garthe, at Hedlay howse syde, \nd. — Uxor Hogson for 
the rent of her howse, v*. yiid. ob. — Robert Usher, m. xd. — Thos. Hol- 
gat for hys howse in ***** y\d. — Uxor Nolson for her i*ent, iiirf. — The 
whole of the rental amounted to the summe of xxxiv/i vi«. xd, ^h' 

The principal streets in Pontefract, during the several reigns af 
Edward III. Richard II. and Henry IV. were the following, as appears 
from extracts noted,* 

Le Mote Hal^l. — In 36 Edward III. a jury certifies to William 
Finchden, that Nicholas de Kymbell had a messuage, juxta le Mote 
Hall, at twelve pence, as well as one shed at the entrance of the Aula 
Placitorum, worth no more than four shillings rent. It pays to the 
hailiff of the castle, 

Le Morcherchy-gate. — In the same king's reign, and in the 
same year, John Spicer of Danum, enlarged his tenement in Mor- 
cherchy-gate, to xii feet long by four feet broad, paying two pence 
.per annum. 

Walker-gate. — ^In the same j'ear Robert de Holm, of York, houghfc 
half a burgage in Walker-gate, betwixt the piior of St. Oswald, and 
the king's street towards Baghill. This street ran east and west on 
the south side of the barbican. 

Cutler Row.— In the 37 Edward III. there is mention made, that 
Adam Marshall, who died 23 Edward III. held two shops in Cutler row. 

Baxter-gate. — In the 44 Edward III. Alice, wife of Thomas de 
Thoresby, came before the seneschall and requested the third part of a 
messuage in Baxter-gate, as her dower. At this time there were two 
streets called Baxter-gate, one extending from the east side of le Mote 
hall to Garden-hill, crossing southgate; and the other ran southwards 
on the western side. 

St. Giles' Street. — A woman of the name of Dorsogold held a 
tenement in St. Giles' street for life, temp. Edward III. 

Le Bayle-gate. — In this place by the oath cf Thomas Wakfield, 
William de Aikston, John Box, William de Wakfield, and others ; 
John Sandall had a messuage and croft, which he sold to Robert Bos- 
ville. Arthur, his son, possessed the property after his decease for a 
short time, and alienated it to John Bosville, chaplain ; tempore (uJb 
puto; Henrici IV. 

* Hijypon, D. D. f. 32. et. seq. 



70 HISTORY OF PON'lEFRACT. 

Salter Row. — In the time of Henry IV. Joan, the wife of the late 
John Catelyn, held one messuage in the new market, upon Salter row, 
betwixt the messuage of John Box, and the vennel leading to Wolfinpett. 
It is the street were the malt mills are, ending in the hemp market. 

BoNGATE. — In the 36 Edward III. a tenement in this place came 
i ito the possession of the lord the king, at the decease of Thomas 
Haliday, the bastard. This street begins at abbott wall nook, extend- 
ing to the mills, called Bongate-mills. 

Fleschewer's Booths. — Temp. 3 Richard II. John de Amyac 
makes complaint that he farms three booths in the new market in 
Fleschewer's Booths, and that formerly, by Sir William Finchden's 
precept, it was commanded that the butchers should inhabit, and kill 
and sell their meat, only in two places ; viz. in the place called Fles- 
chewer's Booths, in the new market, and in the place eastward of Lan- 
caster's fortress, near unto the church of All-saints ; and that they 
now inhabit other places severally, in abominatione gentium. This 
complaint was made before Thomas de Swillington, seneschall by the 
inquisitions of Thomas Wakfield and others. Fleschewer's booths is 
now generally called pudden middens. 

Newgate. — This street, divides the town of Pontefract from that 
of Tanshelf, running north and south, on the western end of the form- 
er place. It was customary for the inhabitants of each respective 
township to join at the expense incurred in the reparation of this street 
until the 50 George III, 1810, when in the act of parliament passed at 
that period, it was divided and set out, so as each of the said town- 
ships should be able to ascertain and know their respective proportions. 
It was therefore enacted ' that the south end of the said highway 
or street called Newgate, of its present wadth, beginning at the north- 
West corner of Fiiar Wood garden, and extending northwards as far as 
a certain stone intended to be set up at a certain point between the two 
ends of the said street, shall for ever hereafter be deemed, constinied, 
and taken, and is hereby declared to be within and part of the town 
and borough of Pontefract aforesaid, for the purposes of this act ; and 
that the north end of the said street, from the said centre point to the 
north-west corner of a house belonging to Heniy Cawood, called Crab- 
hiU House, shall for ever hereafter be deemed, construed, and taken, 
and is hereby declared to be w- ithin and part of the township of Tan- 
shelf aforesaid, for the pui-poses of this act.' p. 16. 

Ropergate End. — ^This street extends in a direct line from the south 
«ind of Newgate street to the end of the Back ane, and was paved at 
the joint expense of the inhabitants of the townships of Pontefract and 
Tanshelf in the year 1756, as appears by the following agreement : — 



I 



HISTOaY OF PONTEFRACT. 77 

"Agreement betwixt the inhabitants of Pontefract and Tanshelf con- 
cerning the pavement of Ropergate end. Dated 25th June, 1756. 

Whereas, there is a pavement or causeway in the highway lead- 
ing from the two posts and chain at Ropergate end in Pontefract, to 
the highway leading from Purston Jackling into the Back lane at the 
corner of Mr. Hodgson's house, now in the possession of William Dix- 
on, being about 56 yards in length and about 9 yards in breadth, at the 
top thereof, and about 15 at the bottom thereof, which is very ruinon* 
and in great decay for want of repairs ; and it is disputable betwixt 
Pontefract and Tanshelf, who ought to repair the same ; and upon a 
meeting and view this day had and taken thereof, as well by the over- 
seers of the highways and inhabitants aforesaid, as also by the over- 
seers and inhabitants of Tanshelf aforesaid ; it is mutually agreed by, 
amongst, and between the said overseers and inhabitants, and by Ann 
Ash, Susannah Ash, and Elizabeth Fentiman, widows ; Samuel Fenti- 
man and Thomas Hodgson, who are all owners of all the messuages 
and tenements adjoining the said pavement or causeway, on both sides 
thereof; as follow, viz : — That the whole causeway and pavement shall 
be repaired and be made good at this time by the common day's work, 
at the public, equal, and joint expense of Pontefract and Tanshelf afore- 
said, and for ever hereafter be made good and kept in repair by the 
said Ann Ash, Susannah Ash, Elizabeth Fentiman, Samuel Fentiman, 
and Thomas Hodgson, their respective heirs and assigns, from the 
front wall of their respective houses to the middle of the said pavement 
or causeway, as far as their respective fronts do extend, and that part 
of the pavement from one of the posts above-mentioned next adjoining 
Mr. Wheatley's garden wall, from the channel to the middle of the said 
pavement, and also the said channel and a place called Bell-man's 
stone lying over the same downwards for about 15 yards from the said 
post, as the same is set out by large stones placed there for that pur- 
pose, shall for ever hereafter be made good and repaired by the said 
inhabitants of Pontefract aforesaid ; and that part of it from thence to 
the said Elizabeth Fentiman's front being about 11 yards, for ever 
hereafter to be repaired and made good by the said inhabitants of Tan- 
shelf. Witness our hands the day and year abovesaid.' 

OVERSEERS of the HIGHWAYS. 

OF PONTEFRACT. OF TANSHELF. OWNERS OF MESSUAGES. 

William Shillito, James Cope, Thomas Hodgson, 

Samuel Medley, Richard Finder,* Samuel Fentiman, 

the mark Benjamin Blackburn, Ann O. Fentiman, 

John J.E. Earnshaw, William Tatham. the mark 

of Susannah X Ash, 

John Perfect. of 

Ann Ash. 
Allowed by us, 

GEORGE JENNINGS, Mayor. WILLIAM LEE, Aldn. LAWRENGE FOX, Aldk. 

*Richard Pind-er removed to Ferrybridge previously to the agreement being madi;. 



78 



HISTORY QF PONTEFRACT. 



After the passing of the act of parliament* in the year 1810 the pro- 
perty of all the pavements and materials in the highways, streets, lanes 
and other public passages and places within the said town, as also in such 
ether streets, passages and places not exceeding one mile from the 
town hall of the said town of Pontefract, as well as all lamps, lamp- 
irons and posts, were vested in commissioners ; no clausef however, in 
this or other preceding acts, was made to the prejudice or abridgment 
of the 'rights, franchises, markets, fairs, stallages, liberties, privi- 
leges, powers, duties, rents, revenues, tolls, or profits whatsoever of 
the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the said town of Pontefract ;' 
but, all those ancient rights and liberties they had obtained by grant, 
interest and possessions from the kings of England, and the noble 
lords of the fortress of Pontefract,t were confirmed to them ; injus- 
tice and gratitude to which, the seal of the corporate body is impressed 
with the representation of a castle. 

Tradition, nevertheless, informs us that the corporation of Ponte- 
fract had no power to arrest any person, taking refuge at the cross of 
Oswald, which stood on the site of the present cross, and gave the de- 
nomination of the hundred or wapontake§ of Oswald's cross, corrupted 
at the time of the survey into Osgodcross and Osgoldcross. This hun- 
dred or wapontake is divided into the upper and lower division, and 
consists of the following townships and parishes : 

* Vide Act of Parliament, entitled, an act for paving and otherwise improving 
the streets and other public passages within the town of Pontefract, in the county of 
York, for better supplying the said town with water, and for altering and amending an 
act, entituled, an act for dividing the park of Pontefract, in the county of York, and^for 
other purposes therein mentioned — 50 Geo. III. Sess. 1810. 

t The principal clauses in the act of 1810, were the following : — Property of pave- 
ments, &c. vested in commissioners — Pavements to be repaired by order of commission- 
ers, who have power to stop up streets, &c. during repair. — Inhabitants discharged from 
repairs by custom or prescription. — Power to name streets. — Pavements not to be altered 
without the consent of the commissioners. — Foot pavements to be swept every day. — 
No person to collect dirt from the streets, except the scavenger, who shall do the same 
once in each week, at the least. — Removal and prevention of nuisances. — Carts and car- 
riages not to be left in the streets. — Penalty not to extend to riibbish occasioned by 
building. — Occupiers of houses to take down sign posts, &;c, considered as encroach- 
ments. — Buildings may be purchased for widening the streets, and all disputes concern- 
ing the same to be settled by ajur\% — Drains to be made. — Provision lor lighting the 
streets and appointing watchmen. — Penalty for breaking lamps, &.c. — Power to dig for 
gravel. — Pump invested in commissioners, "who have power to lay pipes, yet not to en- 
ter private property without consent of the owner ; nor injure the right of any individ- 
ual. — Fire plugs to be made. — Water to be free for the use of the inhabitants, yet sub- 
ject to the resulation of the commissioners. — Recovery of penalties, &c. &c. 
t Mag. Brit. vi. 395, a. 6. 

§ Hundred, — hxmdredum cenUtria, is a part of a shire, so called, either because of 
old, each hundred found 100 fide-jussors of the king's peace, or 100 able men for his 
wars. Lambard states it to be so called from a hundred men who are heads of so many 
families, a numero centum hominum. — Dom. Boo. Glossary. The hundred consisted of 
ten tithings, each tithing comprizing ten bors-holders or freeholders, so that the hun- 
dred contained 100 members with their families. Over each hundred presided a heredit- 
ary governor, who was always a thane or nobleman, and resided within the limits of the 
hundred. It belonged to him to appoint times and places for the meetings, — preside in 
the court, and put its sentences into execution, ike. — Spelden. Gloss, in "Coc. bOl et seq. 
In these councils or assemblies of the hundreds, during the Saxon era, the chief had an 
audience with each, and used the authority of persuading rather than commanding. If 
they disliked his proposition, they disproved it with a hum and rude noise, but if 
they, on the contrarj^, assented to what he proposed, they shook and rustled their spears 
and partizans together, and, from hence arose the rights of wapontakes or hundred 
meetings. — Sbld. Jan. Ang. 32, c. 19. Wapontake is derived from the Saxon word 



HISTORY OF FONTEFRACT. 7^ 

UPPER DIVISION. 

Ackworth, Aceuurde,X in the parish of Ackworth.— Badswortfry 
Badeswrde ; Thorpe Audlin, Thorp Hamelyn et Torj) ; and Upton, 
Ultone and Opetone ; in the parish of Badsworth. — Bramwith, Bran^ 
wat ; in the parish of Bramwith. — Burghwallis, Burg ,- in the parish 
of Burghwallis. — Campsall, Cansall ; Norton, Nortune ; Fen wick ; 
Moss; Sutton, Suf.on ; and Askern ; in the parish of Campsall.^ — Cas- 
tleford. Cast erf or d ; and Houghton, Houeton, Haltune and Hocton; 
in the parish of Castleford. — Darrington, Darnintone ; and Stapleton, 
Staplendun ; in the parish of Darrington. — Fetherstone, i^(ere5^Mwe ; and 
Purston Jagling, Preston- Jackelyngc ; in the parish of Featherstone. — 
Water-Frystone, Fristone ; and part of Ferrybridge, Fereia ;- in the 
parish of Water-Frystone. — Kirksmeaton, Smidetune ; in the parish of 
Kirksmeaton. — Pontefract, Kirkhye and Chirchehi; Tanshelf, Tate- 
shalle : Carlton, Carletune ; East-Hai'dwick, Arduuic : Knottingley, 
Notingeleia ; and part of Ferrybridge ; in the parish of Pontefract. — 
Owston, Austun ; Carcroft Hamlet, and Skellow, Schanalle ; in the 
parish of Owston. — South- Kirkby, Cherchebi : North and South Elm- 
sa;ll, Ermeshalle ; in the parish of South-Kirkby. — ^West-Hardwick, 
Harduic, and Hassle, Asele ; in the parish of Wragby. 
LOWER DIVISION. 

Armine, Ermenie; Hooke ; *Goole ; RawclifF, Rondelif ; Cowick; 
Snaith, Esneid, and Esnoit ; Gowdall; Heck ; Hensall ; Pollington; Balne, 
and part of Whitley, fV-itelaie ; in the parish of Snaith. — Kellington, Ghel- 
intune ; axiA. Cheninctone ; Beaghall, Begall ; and part of Whitley ; in 
the parish of Kellington. — Womersley, TVwiersleye ; Little Smeaton j 
Cridling Stubbs ; and Stubbs Walden, Eistorp, Istorp, and Stuhuson ; 
in the parish of Womersley. — *Adlingfleet, Adelingesfiuet -, Fockerby j 
*Haldeny and Eastcroft; in the parish of Adlingfleet. — *Whitgift ; 
*Reedness ; *Swinefleet ; and *Ousefleet ; in the parish of Whitgift. 

In the village of Knottingley, in the upper division of the wapon- 

take, were erected the royal corn mills ; and, at these mills and the 

ancient corn windmill at Pontefract, the several towns and villages of 

Pontefract, Knottingley, Beaghall, and Cridling Stubbs, were accus- 

woepon, arms, and iac, to touch ; for as we read in king Edward's laws, when the govern- 
or of the hundred, or wapentake, to whom the members paid homage, arrived at their 
meetings, he alighted from his horse, struck his lance in the ground, and received fealty 
from each, according to tlie Roman custom, when the pra;to# presided at the meetings 
of the centumviri. Each member touched the governor's lance with his own, inasmuch 
as by this, tliey had entered into an agreement and confederacy to assist and defend one 
another ; hence the meeting was styled wapentac. The Saxons, some affirm, copied 
this fashion from their progenitors, the Macedonians ; and the meetings of the Germans, 
Franks, Lombards, Wisi-gotiis, were conducted in the same manner. — Lindenborg. 
Gloss. Vqc. Centenarins. — tacit, de Morib. German, c. 6, 12. 

t The name of each township, as noted in Domesday Book Survey, is printed in 
italics. 

* The places marked with an asterisk are in the isle of Marshland, on the south 
side of the river Onse. 



80 HISTORY OF PONTBFRACT. 

tomed to grind all their grain. But, a nrnnber of windmills being built, 
the inhabitants gradually ceased to use the royal mills, and a complaint 
being made, king James I. in the 20th year of his reign, issued the fol- 
lowing proclamation by way of injunction : — 

* JAMES, by the grace of God, of England, Scotland, France, and 
Ireland, king, defender of the faith, &c. to our mayor of our town of 
Pontefract, and to our steward, and others, our officers, ministers, and 
county justices, within the several towns and villages of Pontefract, 
Knottingley, Beghall, and Cridling, parcel of our honour of Pontefract, 
and part of the possession of the dutchy of Lancaster, and to every of 
them. Greeting, 

Whereas, we are credibly infoimed that many of the inhabitants 
within our said several towns and villages aforesaid of Pontefract and 
others, which ought to do their suit and soke unto our mills of Knot- 
tingley aforesaid, do now altogether carry, bring, or send their said 
corn, elsewhere, and ought to be ground at our mills, and that there 
are divers horse mills made use of by them in our said towns or villages 
aforesaid, which doth greatly withdraw the soke of our said mills, 
which is not only to our detriment, but in time will tend to the decay 
and loss of our now farmer thereof, who is now bound to answer unto 
them a yearly rent for the same, and hath of late been of veiy great 
chai'ges in repairing the said mills and the dams thereof, for the better 
usage and serving of our said tenants and inhabitants ; We therefore, 
minding and considering the premises, and willing the good and quiet 
of our aforesaid farmer, and our said tenants and inhabitants aforesaid. 
Do HEREBY will and command, and also strictly charge and injoin all 
and singular our said tenants and inhabitants within our said several 
towns and villages of Pontefract, Knottingley, Beghall, and Cridling 
aforesaid, and the members thereof, from time to time, and at all times, 
after the knowledge and publishing of these our letters, to do and per- 
form all their siiit and soke and service unto our said mills of Knotting- 
ley, and to bring and send all their corn, grain, or malt, which they 
and every of them shall spend and otherwise brew and bake, to them 
for commodity in their dwelling-houses, to be ground at our said mills 
of Knottingley and not elsewhere, and that they our said tenants and 
inhabitants, and likewise all they that use mills, and them and every 
of them, do, from and after the publishing or knowledge of this our 
will and pleasure, forbear to grind such, or cany to be ground at any 
other mill or mills whatsoever, except it be to our Windmill of Pon- 
tefract, any, the said corn, grain, exclusive of any of our said ten- 
ants, or inhabitants as aforesaid, if they may be served at our said mills 
of Knottingley, within the space of tv/enty-four hours, and thereof not 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 81 

to fail, as they will every of them tender our pleasure and will answer 
to the contrary at their peril, and lastly, for the better publishing and 
rectifying hereof, we do hereby will and require you our said mayor 
of our said town of Pontefract, for the time being, and also our stew- 
ard of our said honour of Pontefract, and all other officers and minis- 
ters, in their several places, and others charged to be aiding, helping, 
and assisting unto our farmer of our said mills in the premises, and 
that they and every of them do cause these our letters to be publicly 
read and published at such days, times, and places, as of them and 
every of them respectively by our said mayor on our behalf shall be re-^ 
quired and demanded, to the intent that all our tenants and inhabitants, 
and all other persons to whom it may or shall appertain, may take cer- 
tain knowledge and notice of these our letters, and our express charge, 
and commandment therein signified, and thereof not to fail, as they 
will every of them tender our service, and as we severally trust them. 
— Written at our palace of Westminster, under the seal of our said 
dutchy of Lancaster the last day of August, 1624, in the twenty third 
year of our reign of England, France and Ireland j and of Scotland the 
forty-eighth. 

A short time, however, had only elapsed after the publishing of 
the above injunction, when the inhabitants of Pontefract, Tanshelf, 
and Monkhill disregarded the royal commands, and disused the ancient 
dutchy mills at Knottingley. — In consequence of this. Sir Lawrence 
Hide, knight, the queen's majesty's attorney-general exhibited a bill 
of information into her highness' court of chancery at Westminster, in, 
the 26th year of the reign of James I., by the relation of John Grimes- 
dith, Esq. plaintiff, against William Tatham, late mayor of Pontefract, 
John Ward, William Ellis, Bartholomew Whorewood, and John Combe 
and others, inhabitants of Pontefract, defendants j who stated that 
they were bound of right and duty to grind their corn at the ancient 
stone windmill in Pontefract ^ the said stone windmill, with the town 
of Pontefract and all their royalties, jurisdictions, rents, and profits of 
the same, being anciently granted and confirmed to the mayor and 
burgesses of Pontefract for the annual rent of 49^. 13s. 4d. At thesame 
time, they challenged to be hopper-free, that is to say, to be first serv- 
ed when the hopper is empty, at Knottingley mill^ ; and, to have the 
best mill there, called the Bill Mill for themselves, and for which, * the 
mayor of Pontefract, hath used, time out of mind, to give unto the 
miller of Knottingley mills, yearly on Christmas day, a pair of gloves 
and fourpence in money, or his dinner, as a duty for the said privileges." 
An exemplification of the ancient ordinance, under the dutchy 
seal, dated the 12th day of November, in the reign of Edward IV, aa 

M 



S2 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

well as another of the fourteenth year of the reign of queen ElizaBetlt;. 
were then drawn in court. These decrees firmly established the anci- 
ent usage, custom, and dut)% of the inhabitants of the several towns 
and villages, in doing their suit at Knottingley mills ; which, on ac- 
count of the extent of the soke, had precedence of the minster mills a.t 
York, ashy a record, dated the 5th year of the reign of Edward III. 
which was taken out of the castle of Pontefract, and exhibited in the 
court, it appeared, that the ^^early rent of these mills, at that period, 
was 30/. and consequently a large and plentiful soke must have belong- 
ed to them. It was then decreed, that the inhabitants of the aforesaid' 
towns and villages should not grind their corn at any other mills * save 
at the royal dutchy mills at Knottingley, and the ancient stone wind 
mill at Pontefract ; provided always, that if it shall at any time hap- 
pen, that the said mills at Knottingley, stand in back water, or be irt 
decay, or want water, or be overcharged with work, so that the in- 
habitants of Pontefract, Tanshelf, and MonkhiU aforesaid, or any of 
them cannot have their corn ground there, within the space of twenty- 
four hours, after the same be brought to the said mills ; that then, in: 
such cases when it shall so happen, it shall and may be lawful, for every 
such person of the said towns, whose coim shall so have staid four and 
twenty hours at the said mills at Knottingley, and cannot be groun^^ 
to take and carry the grist to any other miltto be ground.*^* 

The great Roman road, called Gwethelin Street, which was com- 
menced by Dunwallo and finished by Gutheline, from whom it derived 
its name Gwethelin, now corrupted into Watling Street, and which: 
extended fi-om Port Ritupiae, now Richborough, in Kent, to the limit 
of the Roman wall (usque ad lineam valii,) in Northumberland, and 
even to Caithness, in Scotland, a distance of 230 miles, out of England, 
passed through Doncaster, Barnsdale, East Hardwicke, and over Pon- 
tefract park.t ' Thence it passed hastilie ouer Casterford bridg to- 
Aberford, which is fiae from thence, and where are most manifest 
tokens of this streete, and his broade crest, by a great way together, 
also to York, Wetherbi, and then to Borow-Bridg.'J Another road 
called the Ikeneld or Rikeneld, or as the author of ' Eulogium histori- 
arum' styles the Lelme, which had its rise from Stafibrdshire, crossed 
the Gwethelin Street here at Pomfret,. from which circumstance, it is 
very probable, Whitaker and Hearne maintain, the whole road to be 
called Ikeneld. The direction of this road was through Worcester, 

* Vide Decree of the coiirt of Chancery for the soke of Knottingley mills. 

t Before the enclosure of the park, the vestiges of a Roman station were visible on 
tke summit of its ridge. Of this road, Leland says ' Sum old people constantlie adSrm> 
Vhat the rigge of Wateling Streate went through the parke of Pontfract, 

X Hollingshcd's Hist, of Britain, 113,68, i. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. S3 

Wicombe, Litchfield, Derby, Sheffield, Barnsley, Hemsworth, and Ac- 
worth. A third Roman road passed from Manchester, through Wake- 
field, and crossed Gwethelin Street, somewhere near Pontefract. 
Another Roman via vicinalis passed through the villages of Darlington, 
Wentbridge, Smeaton, Campsall, Hatfield, and northwards through the 
old town of Pontefract to Castleford. 



84 HISTORY OF PONTBFRACT. 



PART THE SECOND 



SECTION I. 

* The grassy court — the mossy wall — 
Vault — bartizan — and turret tall — 

With weeds that have o'ergrown them ; 
Though silent as the desert air, 
Yet have their eloquence, — and bear 

Morality upon them.' — 

The once princely and magnificent fortress of Pontefract, was 
seated upon the summit of an extensive and almost insulated rock ; 
and was reckoned one of the largest and strongest in England. Whilst 
its situation rendered it almost impregnable, it possessed the advan- 
tages of a commanding prospect over the surrounding country, on 
every side except the south, and here the limits of vision were hounded 
by Baghill rock, which rose within musquet shot of the castle, and was 
equal, if not superior to it in height. The base of the castle on this 
side being the least abrupt, was fortified by several stupendous turrets 
and battlements, flanked by a deep and broad ditch, named the fosse, 
which contributed as much to its beauty as its strength. 

The foundation of this noble structure is variously ascribed, by some 
to be in the time of the Saxons, and by others to that of the Normans. 
In the chartular of Kirkstall Abbey, it is positively stated, to have been 
built, by Hyldebert or Ilbert de Lascy, a potent Norman baron, in the 
army of the Norman Conqueror. Although no mention is made of the 
mound or keep, in the survey recorded in Domesday Book, yet Hol- 
lingshed affirmeth, ' that an earthern fortification existed here anterior 
to the conquest,' and, ' that William at the time he dispossed the Sax- 
ons of their holds, wi'ested it from Alric, a Saxon thane, and granted it 
to Ilbert, together with so many estates in the county of York, as 
made up 150 lordships.' The fortification, called the Round Tower, 
stands on a raised artificial mound, of a composition of earth, far 
diff'erent to any of the rest near the castle, and, (according to Berewick, 
and others, on the first foundation,) was a Saxon fortress. It is singly 
raised above every other turret, is sixty-four feet in diameter, and its 
walls are so immensely thick, that it is as firm as if it was erected upon 
th« solid rock. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 86 

The Illustrious family of the Lascies, earls of Lincoln, were the 
nohle lords of this fortress. They landed in England with William the 
Conqueror, as appears from the roll of Battle Abbey ;* and had their 
origin from Nigell, or Neal, baron of Halton, cousin to Hugh Lupus, 
earl of Chester, who was descended from Roger Fitz Eustace, and Ag- 
nes his wife, of Walton. 

At the dying request of the Norman Conqueror, his second son, 
William, surnamed Ruftis, succeeded him to the throne of England. 
Dreading a formidable rival in his eldest brother Robert, who had, 
during his father's life-time, rent the kingdom with factions, tumults, 
and broils, and inflamed the Norman state ; he obtained, by promises, 
the affections of the native English, who became strongly attached to 
his interest, and resolute to maintain his cause. All his father's grants 
to the Norman chieftains, he ratified without delay, securing to them 
their possessions, and largely diffusing his favours. Amongst others, 
Hyldebert or llbert de Lascy, obtained a confirmation of the grant of 
the Saxon mound, and lands adjoining, which had been given to him 
by the Conqueror, in the tenth year of his reign, and where he had 
commenced the erection of the stupendous fortress of Pontefract. 
When he laid the foundation stone he called the town Pontfreit, or 
Pontfrete, from having so close a resemblance to the Norman town 
Pontfrete, the place of his nativity. He rebuilt with free-stone the 
Round Tower, which stands on the eastern end of the north wall, form- 
ing embrasures or crennels in the walls, from which the cross-bowmen 
might let loose their bolts from the arblastf or point the loaded 
cannon. 

It was sometimes called Snorre Castle, as Gough and Leland thus 
write : * The eastell of Pontfract, of sum called Snorre Castell, con- 
taineth eight rounde toures, of the which the dungeon caste into six 
roundilles, three bigge and three smalle, ys verie faire, and hath a 
faire spring.'^ 

The towers next in rotation to the keep or round tower, on the 
bayle or ballium, were Pype's or Red Tower, and Treasurer's or Gas- 
coigne's Tower, t| and betwixt the latter tower and the Queen's tower, 
stood the great hall, and near this place St. Conduit's chapel reared its 
mitred head. King's tower stood next, and then Constable's tower,§ 

* HoUingshed's Chronicles, ii. 3. 

t The bolt was the arrow, peculiarly fitted to the arblast or cross bow, as that of 
the long bow was called the shaft, and it was sometimes called the quarrell, from its 
diamond sharp head. 

% Leland's Itin. i. 40. Gough's Cam. Brit. iii. 285. This is undoubtedly the place 
now generally called the Magazine. 

II So called from the famous Judge Gascoigne, who flourished about the commence- 
ment of the fifteenth century, and to whose memory is erected a splendid monument in 
Harewood church.— Gent's Hist. Comp. Rom. ii. 37. 

♦ ' Ther ys yn the dike on the northe, the Constable's toure,'— Gough'e Cam. Brit, 



86 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

from which a strong embattled wall extended to the round tower; 
and betwixt the constable's tower and the gate-house was the kitchen. 
Before the great gate was an outwork called the barbican or antemu- 
ral, which was a strong and high semicircular wall, in the course of 
which was an embattled gate fortified on each side by a stupendous 
turret. This place was occupied by the corps de garde, and formed a 
sure defence against all assaults on the south side, cis well as a preserv- 
ative to the portcullis which hung immediately behind it, over a deep 
and broad moat.* From the barbican, a wall extended from east to 
west, and in the south east corner of this wall, was the east gate ; in 
the centre was the middle gate, and at the west end stood the king's 
Stables. In the centre of the south wall of the outer area, or barbican, 
was the south gate, and in the east corner was a building called the 
great larth or laith. The barbicanf extended southwards down to the 
turnpike road leading to Knottingley, and the south gate of the barbi- 
can stood exactly facing the road by the house now Mr. Rd. Thompson's, 
adjoining to the east end of Baghill. Near the barbican, westward, was 
« square tower of immense magnitude and strength, called the main 
guard, from which an embattled Wcill branched forth ending in the 
king's stables. On the north east side of the queen's tower, stood 
Swillington tower, so called from its being erected during the time that 
Robert Swillington was seneschall, in the reign of Richard II. St. 
Clement's chapel and college stood near the gatehouse, and the maga- 
zine, excavated in the solid rock, and descended into by a passage, 
four feet in width, having about forty-thiee steps, was situated neai* 
the chapel. The chamber of this magazine was six yards in length, 
three yards in breadth, and nine yards in depth, from the eaith's sur- 
face, and had in its sides six excavations. The dungeon was between this 
place and the barbican, and was descended into from the seventh step 
of the magazine, on the right, thi'ough a passage, three feet in width, 
ha\'ing about twenty-five steps. 

Ilbert granted the manor of Hamilton to the abbey at Selby, which 
Robert, his son, for the good of the soul of his brotlier Hugh, who had 
been its second mitred abbott,:J: confirmed ; as did also Gilbert and Hen- 
ry, grandsons of the donor. |1 Ilbert died soon after Ruf us' accession 
to the throne, and his eldest son Robert, styled Robert de Pontfract, 

* The moats were two in number, one extended from the west gate round the 
great tower to the north, and the other from the constable's tower to the east gate. 

t Barbican, (as Camden, p. 333 treating of the suburbs of London, with its ancient 
fortifications writes,) is an Arabian word, signifying a militarj- fence ) such as watch 
tQwer, wall, battlement, &c. that extended outwards from any main fortress. 

t Hugh de Lascy was created the second mitred abbott of Selby, in the year 1103 ; 
but in what manner he vacated his office is not stated. — Mon. Ang. i. 373. Coucher 
Book of the Abbey Selby, f. 72-— He was the founder of the Monastery of St. Joho at 
Lanthony, near Gloucester. — Baker's Chron. 

B Johiwton, pp. 92, 99i, 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. $7 

from the circumstance of his being born here, was according to the law 
of primogeniture,* heir to his vast possessions. 

Robert obtained a confirmation of the grant of all his father's pos- 
sessions, and acquired the lordship of Blackburnshire, (now one of the 
hundreds,; which bordered on his estates in Yorkshire, from Roger de 
Busli, and Albert de Greslet, to have it held of him as tenants in capite.f 

At the time when Rufus was slain by the arrow of Sir Walter Tyr- 
rel, his bow-bearer, his eldest brother Robert, was in the first crusade 
at the reduction of Jerusalem, and consequently lost that opportunity 
of succeeding to the throne of England, which never again offered 
itself. Ambition prompted Henry, his younger brother, to seize the 
sceptre ; and he being a native of England, and on the spot, had 
great weight with the English, who yielded him obedience and acqui- 
esced in all his claims. After a tumultuous reign, he was crowned 
within sixty-six hours from the death of the late king, so apprehensive 
was he of the arrival of Robert. The English having shewed great 
jealousy in the coronation oaths, he redressed some of their grievances, 
granted them a charter, established the churches in the possession of 
all their immunities, confirmed their privileges, abolished the tax of 
Danigeld, as well as all other tributes unjustl}'^ imposed by the two 
former kings ; and restoring the laws of Edward, expelled from hi* 
court all the ministers and instruments of his brother's arbitrary 
power. 

Daring these transactions, Robert arrived in the British dominions, 
and publicly avowed his resentment against Henry, for supplanting" 
him in the throne, during his absence ; vowing to seize the first op- 
portunity of seeking reparation for the injury done him, * and to haz- 
ard his righte by dent of sv/orde, which was thus by plaine injurie 
most wickedlie deteined from him.' Instigated by Ralph bishop of 
Durham, he had raised an army and landed at Portsmouth, where rest- 
ing a few days, his force was greatly increased, and his pretensions 
were supported by numbers of Norman and English nobles, amongst 
whom was Robert de Pontfract. He then proceeded towards Win- 
chester, and Henry learning of his increasing force, perceived 
with amazement, that his subjects made a wide distinction betwixt 

* This law was introdviced into Europe by the feudal system ; and was essential to 
the support of it. The Saxon law of gavel- kind, the original law of all nations, by wliich 
a father's property, whatever it was, was equally divided axnong his children, was abol- 
ished, as incompatible with duties imposed by this system. The clergy had laboured 
much to introduce the canon law, which sanctioned primogeniture, as divinely appoint- 
ed ; and as this harmonized with the feudal system, it became at length firmly estab- 
lished. If the law of primogeniture be examined, it appears to have no foundation ift 
reason or equity ; and couWnever be obtained in society, but in connection with the 
factious system which required personal service to be rendered to the king, for the lands 
held of him. 

t Vide Whittaker's Whallev. 



88 HISTORY OF^ONTEFRACT. 

Robert of Palestine and Robert of Normandy.* On learning the ar- 
rival of his enemies, as weU as the revolting of his subjects, he raised 
a large army and pitched hi& ' tentes near unto Robert, the better to 
perceiue what he attempted and purposed to doo.' Each host re- 
mained front to front for several days in awful suspense, unwilling to 
risk a combat, Robert because he was disappointed in the number 
of his friends, and Henry becausie he knew not what confidence to 
place in his troops, * when diuers noblemen that owght goode will 
to both the brethren and abhorred in their mindes so unnaturall a dis- 
cord, began to intreate for peace, which in the end they concluded 
upon, conditionallie, that Henrie (who was borne after his father had 
conquered the realme of England,) should now enjoy the same, yield- 
inge and paienge yeerelie vnto duke Robert the svmme of iii M marks. 
Prouided, that whose hap of the two it shuld be to suruiue or outline, 
he shuld be the others right and lawful heire, by mutual agree- 
ment.'t 

The nobles also who had taken part with the duke were wil- 
lingly pardoned by the twelve noblemen chosen for each party ; yet 
when Henry found himself firmly established on the throne, no treaties 
were sufficiently powerful to stifle his resentment against those who 
he recollected had placed in jeopardy his crown ; and he, therefore, 
resolved as soon as a pretext could be found, to punish every person of 
rank who had borne arms under the banner of his brother. 

Robert de Pontfract being one of these noblemen, was banished 
the realm, together with his son Ilbert, and the castle and honour of 
Pontefract, were granted to Henry Traverse,+ who enjoyed his ad- 
vancement but a while. He was slain three days afterwards by one 
of his servants named Pain, who to atone for his crime became a monk, 
Henry then granted the estate to Hugh de la Val, who during the time 
he enjoyed it, made several grants of chvuches to religious houses. |J 
To the priory dedicated to St. John the Evangelist he gave the church 
of Whalley,§ and to the priory of Nostal many lands.^ 



• * It is difficult to assign any reason sufficient to justify the conduct of the barons. 
It is probable they were governed by motives of personal interest. As most of them had 
large estates in Normandy, they apprehended that if Robert held Normandy, without 
being raised to the British throne, he would deprive them of the estates they held there 
Their design appears to have been to have united the two crowns in one person, that 
they mischt secure their possessions in both countries. Vid. Littl. Henry II. 

t HolKChron. i. 30.— Will. Malms.— Simon Dun.— Hen. Hunt. 

t Dugd. Bar. i. 99.— Cam. Mag. Brit. vi. 395. 

(I Dugdale's Baronetage, i. 99. 

i Vide Whittaker's Whalley. 

^ The priory of Nostall was dedicated to the royal saint Oswald, and was repaired 
by Ralph Adlave, chaplain and confessor to Henry T. Whilst attending Heni-y in his 
expedition against the Scots, he fell sick at Pontefract, and remained here for the bene- 
fit of his health. He used to ride frequently from Pontefract to Nostal ; and liking the 
pl»c« to much he obtained the royal sanction of his master to repair and beautify the- 



HISTORY. OF PONTEFKACT. 89 

A confused account is given of Robert after his banishment. Dug- 
dale says he died in exile, during the latter part of the reign of Henry I. j 
and that Ilbert,* his eldest son,t during the reign of Stephen, (whose 
cause he greatly espoused,) came to an agreement with Hugh de la 
Val, by the interposition of the king, and compounded with him for 
150/. ; thereby becoming possessed of the barony, and inheriting the 
possessions of his father. It is, however, unfortunate for this account, 
that we find indubitable evidence of Robert being restored again to his 
possessions and honours, as appears from his confirmations and grants 
with Hugh de la Val, and others. 

Hugh de la Val, about the latter end of tlie reign of Henry I. gave 
the church of Fetherstone to Nostall priory, which Robert de Lascy 
confirmed after he was reinstated in the honor of Pontefract, in the 
reign of king Stephen. — Burton's Mon. Eb. 304. 

Robert de Lascy, fin whose fee of the honor of Pontefract, the 
priory of Nostall is situated,) granted to the priory, the wood in which 
it is built, with two oxgangs in Hardwick, confirmed by Ralph Gram- 
maticus. He also gave all his lands in Okenshaw, and confirmed the 
lands in Chevit, the gift of Oto, to the priory, for which reason the 
Lascies were always reckoned as founders. — Tanner's Notit. Mon. 645. 

Robert de Lascy gave one messuage of land in Pontefract, as well 
as the church of Nostall, and half a carucate of land whereon it was 
built, and the pool of water, to the priory. — Burton, 306. 

Hugh de la Val gave the advowsan of the church of Hackworth, 
Hathworth, now Ackworth, but it does not appear to have taken place* 
app. No. 2 et No. 4. for upon the restoring of Robert de Lascy, he be- 
came again its patron, as heretofore. — Burton's Mon. Eb. p. 304. 

Robert de Lascy confirmed the church of Huthersfield, Cwhich 
was appropriated to Nostall priory,) given by Hugh de la Val, app. 2. 
et 4. Burton, Mon. Eb. 305. 

Robert de Lascy confirmed the grant of Hugh de la Val, of South 
Kirkby church (Mon. Ang. ii. 33 et seq. app. No. 6.) to Nostall priory. 

Robert de Lascy and Hugh de la Val gave the church of RodweU 

priory.— Cam. Mag. Brit. vi. 400. Burton's Mon. Eb. 30h Robert was entrusted with 
the management of the buildings of the new choir intended to be joined to the church of 
Nostall, by Henry de Abberford, and designedly ran the expens'es to a great extravagance 
in order to ra-ake him desist ; which by the loss occasioned from the incursions of the 
Scots, he was compelled to do. — Burton's Mon. Eb. 302. 

* Ilbert married Alice, daughter of Gilbert de Gant, who was a benefactress to the 
priory of Pontefract, With the consent of his younger brother Heniy, he gave tire mill 
and land, at Campsall, to the knights of St. John of Jerusalem. — Original grant in pos- 
sion of Burton.— W. MSS. 

t The Townley MSS, in the pedigree of the Lascies, mentions a Gilbert de Lascy, as 
successor to Robert; but this disagrees with the pedigree taken from the hospital at 
Pontefract and appears to be erroneous. — W. MSS. Gilbert and Walter Lascy appear to 
have been captains in archbishop Thurston's army, when he repelled the'invasion of 
the Scots, in the 3d year of Stephen's reign, and were amongst the chief nobles of Ire- 
land.— Simon Dun. Hon. ii,229, b. 49. 

N 



90 HISTORY OF PONTEFRAGT. 

tro Nostail piioy5% which pope Alexander III. confirmed.— Mon. Angv 
ii. 33, 34, 39, app. No. 2, 4, 6, 8. 

Robert de Lascy confirmed the mill at Saxton, which Robert Pey- 
tevin gave to Nostail priory. — Mon. Ang. ii. 34, 36. 

Hugh de la Val gave the advowson of Warmfield church, (app„ 
No. 2, 15, Mon. Ang. ii. 37.) which was confirmed by pope Alexander 
III. ; and by Robert de Lascy. After the restitution of the family 
to the honor of Pontefract, (Mon. Ang. ii. 35, et seq. app. No. 2 J. it was 
appropriated to Nostail priory,* 

Ilbert, his son, who succeeded him in his possessions, was one of 
the northern barons in the army of Thurston, archbishop of York, 
which was raised to quell the insurrection in the south, in the year 1141, 
in the reign of king Stephen.f. During the illness of the archbishop, 
Ralph, bishop of Durham, was chosen commander, and the captains 
noted were William earl of Albermarle, Wm. Peperil, of Nottingham,, 
and Ilbert de Lascy. After the battle of the standard, Ilbert obtained" a 
pardon on behalf of all his servants, and for all forfeitures whatsoever.^ 
He died without issue, and his brother Henry, who was greatly in favour 
with Henry II. enjoyed his possessions peaceably, and obtained a full 
restitution of his honor, and had granted to him a charter for a fair on: 
St. Giles*^ day, (Sept. O. S.) and eight days following. 

Henry de Lascy, in pursuance of a vow he made when labouring^ 
under a severe indisposition, (' that if he shuld recover he wouldebuilde 
an abbay in honour of the blessed virgin of the Cistertian order,') 
founded on his recoveiy , the monastery of St. Mary, at Bernoldswick, in: 
Craven ; granting to it the town and its appurtenances, which he held 
in fee of Hugh Bigot, earl of Norfolk, at the yearly rent of five marks 
and a present of a hawk to the monastery, and the place very sooii 
afterwards changed its name to St. Mary's Mount. The monks, how- 
ever, only remained here six years, enduring great hardships from cold, 
from hunger, and from the incursions of the marauding Scots. Com- 
pelled to seek a more peaceful retreat, Alexander, their first abbott, 
wandering on the banks of the Aire, reached an habitation of anchor- 
ites at Kirkstall, a village in a valley called Airedale, and being greatly 
delighted with the beauty of the spot, he persuaded his patron, Henry, 
to remove the monastery from Bernoldswick, hither. Henry then 

* Robert perfected the foundation of the priory of Canons regular of St. Augustin, 
at Nostail, which his father Ilbert had left untinished, and richly endowed it with divers 
lands and revenues, granting them free liberty to elect their own prior. — Cam. Mag. 
Brit. vi. 581. 

t Having reduced the rebel lords to obedience, they marched against the king of 
Scots, who liad entered Isorthumberland, ravaging it with fire and sword. In the me- 
morable battle fought against the Scots, they proved victorious, the Scots having 11,000 
men slain on the field of battle, whilst the Enelish had no person of note slain except a 
brother of Hxibert de Lascv.— Baker's Chroo. 47. 



I 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. Vl 

{©'btained the grant of the land from William of Poictou, or Poictevin, 
(Pictavensis^^ the monks paying to him and his heirs five marks per 
annum. He then laid the foundation of the abhey, in the thirteenth year 
of Stephen's reign, 1147, and dedicated it to the blessed Virgin Mary. 
On its completion, the monks converted their habitation into a grange, 
14 kal. June, (19 May,) 1152, and removed hither, obtaining money 
«ind provisions from Henry, who had finished it at his own cost, and 
had brought some of the brethren from Fountains Abbey to them, 
making their number, an abbott, twelve monks and twelve lay brothers.* 
He granted to them the town of Bracewell, in Craven ; a bercary or 
cowpasture, in Brachenel or Brachenley, near Roundhay, which was 
confirmed to them by king Henry n.; a place called Brocadene; half 
<a mark per annum issuing out of his lands in Clitherow, com. Lancast. 
towards supporting a lamp, to burn day and night before the altar, and 
vone mark per annum towards clothing the abbott ; the place called 
Elwynthorpe, and both the towns of Marton ; Roundhay Grange ; one 
«arucate of land in Smeathalls ; and another place called Stoke.f He 
also confirmed the grant of lands of Radulphus, the son of Nicholas and 
John de Ryther to Fountains Abbey. He disputed with Savardus the 
third prior of Nostall, about a carucate of land near the pool, on which 
the church was built, but on going to the wars he relinquished all 
claim thereto for himself and heirs.J 

Henry died in the latter part of the reign of Henry H. and Robert, 
his son, succeeded him in his honours and possessions. Robert was 
one of the attendant barons at the ccrcnaticn of Richard I. He granted 
to Fountain's Abbey, pasture in Marchesdene, for forty cows and their 
calves, for two years, and for thirty oxen, with sufficient hay for the 
winter; and to Kirkstall Abbey, he gave the town of Alkerington, 
with the wood called Haia, in lieu of the grange of Cliveacher, which 
was claimed of Lambert, the abbott, by Sir Richard Bland, ktiight^H 
* The abbott being possessed of it, removed the inhabitants, and con- 
verted it into a grange for the vise of his monastery ; when some 
of the dispossessed inhabitants, provoked at their expulsion, burnt the 
grange with all its furniture, and slew the three lay brothers, who 
managed it. The abbott, after he had buried the dead, repaired to 
Robert de Lascy, their patron, and with tears in his eyes, related the 
calamity which had befallen them. That nobleman took their cause in 



* Cam. Brit. iii. f. 238. Burton^s Mon. Eb. f. 288. Kirkstall monasterium ord. 
Sti Bernardi.— Henricus Lascy primus fundator, an. 1147, 13 Stephen. Camden, 709. 
LelandCol. i. 45. 

t Burton's Mon. Eb. 250, et seq. Steeven's app. 224. Mon. Ang. i. 855, et seq. 

t Willis's History of Cathedrals, p. 125. Hist. Abb, ii. 280. Mon. Ang. ii.^, MSS. 
penes Dom. Rowland Winn, Bart. 

!l Burton's Mon. Eb. 289, 



92 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

hand, and designed to have banished the offenders with their families, 
when they fell down at the abbott's feet, with the consent of the patron, 
and made satisfaction for their sins, renouncing all their right to the 
gi'ange, and giving money for the damage done ; whereupon the abbott 
rebuilt the grange.'* He also gave them the whole township of Aston in 
Cheshire,f and confinned to them his father's grant of Bernoldswick.t 
He gave them pasture for their cattle at Roundhay Grange,ll and the 
whole of the grange of Staney.§ He died without issue, on the 12th 
kal. February, 1193, and was entombed in the abbey of Kirkstall.5[ 
The estates and honor of Pontefract, then descended to his maternal 
though not paternal sister, Albreda de Lisours,** he having no relation 
nearer ; ' for which reason, she after the death of Robert, enjoyed 
th« estates of the Lascies by her brother, and that of the Lisours by 
her father, Eudo de Lisours.'ft She married Richard Fitz Eustace, 
constable of Chester, and baron of Halton, and he dying before Roger 
de Lascy, the estates of both noble families came to John. 

Animated by the spirit of the times, John fought under the banner 
of Richard I. with his son Roger, in the third crusade ; and whether he 
fell in battle, or by the fatigues and changes of the climate, is uncer- 
tain ; but he is stated to have died at Tyi-e, in Judea, leaving issue, by 
Alice de Mandeville, Roger, Richard,j||l and Peter. 

Roger succeeded to his estates, and took the name of Lascy. He 
continued to fight against the INIahometans, accompanied by his confi- 
dential fiiend, William Bellamonto, ancestor of the Beaxmionts, of 
Whitley, near Huddersfield ; to whom he granted eight oxgangs of 
land in Huddersfield, allowing him to become testator to his charter. 
Roger was present at the memorable siege of Acre ; and was deputed 
to treat with the Welch tributary kings when agressing, which he did 
with such severity that he was sumamed Helle. He was also styled 
infernal, on account of his having several times vanquished the 
wolf, and being such a terrible man.§§ He petitioned the king to 
grant to the abbey of Kirkstall, the grange of INIicklethwaite, which 
had been taken from them by king Henry ; and obtained this condition- 
ally, that Elias the abbott, should take it with Collingham and Bardsey, 

* Cam. Mag. Brit. vi.-579. t Idem 290. t Idem. || Mon. Ang. i. 862. 5 Idem 860. 

<|f Dugdale's Baronetage, i 100. ** Lib. IMonast. de Stanlow. 

tt These are the words of the register in Stanley Abbey. — Gough's Cam. Brit. iii. 

1111 Richard gave to the prior>' of Bridlington, pasture for 300 sheep in Folkeston, 
in Dykering wapentake, in the East Riding; and for 50 cart loads of turf out of the 
marsh.— R. de. B. f. 67, et seq. „, , . . , . 

§§ In the Harleian :\iSS. is a charter of Roger de Lascy, to Whalley, to which is 
annexed a drawintc of the impression of his seal. On one side is a Griffin, holding a 
serpent in one of the fore paws, and the other, has the following inscription round it t 
• SiGiLVM RoGERi Lasci. Constabul.\rii Cestkie.' In Whittakcr's Whalley, i. 142, it 
is stated, that on the obverse side of his great seal was the spirited figure of a griffin, grind- 
ing the body of some other animal ; whilst on the endorsement was an armed man, tramp- 
ling on the body of an enemy, whose head he holds up triumphantly with his right 
Siand, while the Uft »u»tains an antique heater shield. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 93 

B8 a fee farm, and pay an annual rent of 90^. for them. He also 
confirmed to Fountain's Abbey, fifteen acres of meadow, which was 
the grant of Adam, the son of Radulphus, son of Nicholas de Credeling, 
and gave to the monks two acres of land in Credeling.* 

In the 3d year of the reign of Richard I. ' Roger de Lascie, conesta- 
ble of Chester, tooke Alane de Lee and Peter de Bouencourt, and upon 
despite hanged them, for that beinge in truste amonge other with 
the keepinge of the castells of Notingham and Tikehill, which he had 
receiued unto his custodie of the bishop of Elie, quondam lord chan- 
cellour, they had consented to the treason of Robert de Crokeston and 
Eudo de Duuille, which delieuered the same castells unto John earle 
of Montaigne. The same earl of Montaigne was highly offended for 
the deathe of those two persons, and therefore wasted the lands of the 
saide Roger, which laie within the compasse of his jurisdiction.'-f' 

In the 5th year of Richard's reign, he came to an agreement with 
Albreda, his grandmother, for all the lands belonging to the honor 
of Pontefract, and, by a fine, levied at Westminster, before Henry, 
archbishop of Canterbury, William, bishop of Ely, chancellor of the 
king, and others, she quit claim to him all the lands which belonged to 
Robert de Lascy ; and he then granted a charter to his burgesses of 
Pontefract. In the year following, he answered 45/. 15s. for the scut- 
age then levied, on account of the king's redemption ; and in the 7th 
year of Richard's reign, he paid a fine of 2000 marksj to the king, for 
livery of all his lands and castles, belonging to the barony and honor 
of Pontefract, which the king, at this period, held in his own hands ; 
either because he was doubtful of the fidelity of Roger, or he willed to 
extort from him another sum of money. 

When king John succeeded to the throne of England, his preten- 
sions were disputed by Arthur, duke of Bretagne, and, therefore, pre- 
viously to his passing over into Normandy, he, in the year 1199, made 
concession to the barons, and amongst the rest he ' delivered unto 
Roger de Lascie, conestable of Chester, the castell of Pounfret,' on 
condition that he paid 500 marks, yielding up to him his son and heir 
as an hostage for his loyalty and faithful obedience. Roger did not, 
however, it appears, pay the sum stated, as we find that in the 4th of 
John he came to a new agreement to pay the whole by installments of 
100 marks per annum, and to give to the king annually ten palfrys, 

* Monasticon Ane;Ucanum, i. 754. 

t HolUngshed's Ciironicles, ii. 133. 

t The mark is estimated at tiiirty shillings, and the fine now levied would amount 
to three thousand povinds. When the comparative value of money is considered, this 
sum then, would be equal to thirty thoiisand povmds now. In the reign of William the 
Conqueror, and down to Richard 1. commodities were on an average ten times cheaper 
than they are at present. Bishop Fleetwood has shewn that in the year 1240, four 
pounds thirteen shillings and ninepence was worth fifty pounds of eur present money.'— 
£Ncy, in. mon. 



94 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

and ten lease of greyhounds. The king, in the thiid year of his reign, 
sent Roger with one hundred men at arms to defend the confines of 
Normandy. 

After king John had barbarously murdered prince Arthur, his 
nephew, the legal heir to the throne, he became an object of execra- 
tion to the nobles, who accused him of the murder before Philip of 
France, under whom he held many continental territories. Hereupon 
king Philip summoned king John to appear before him, and on his not 
being forthcoming, according to the tenure of his homage, to answer 
the charge, it was decreed that he had forfeited all his estate in France, 
and was pronounced guilty of treason and felony. The nobles then broke 
out into a general insurrection, and aided by Philip, carried their tri- 
umphant arms through John's dominions, whilst he was living idle at 
Roan.* Lisle Daudele, defended by the valiant Roger de Lascy, was 
the last place which held out against the arms of Philip. After a siege 
of six months, Roger being constrained by famine to yield, deemed 
it more honourable to die by the sword than starve, and rushing 
out of the fortress with his troops, slew a great many of the French j 
but being overpowered by superiority of numbers, he was taken 
captive. Whilst a prisoner of war, he was treated with great respect, 
was allowed his liberty upon parole in Paris, and ultimately bought 
his ransom for 6000 marks .f After he had obtained his liberty, he be- 
came very diligent about his own aifairs, and on the 6th scutage of 
John, he answered for forty-three knights' fees and a half. His fideli- 
ty to the king was so well approved of, that he was for four years cifter 
continued as sheriff of Cumberland and Yorkshire ; and obtained a 
grant of the manor and soke of Snaith, to hold to himself and his heirs, 
by the service of one knight's fee. 

When the king, and Reginald Earl of Bolougne, had sworne to as- 
sist each other, and to never cease making war against Philip of 
France, Roger de Lascy was one of the sureties sworn for the 
king of England. J Roger died on the 1st of October, 1211, and was 
buried in the abbey of Stanlow, leaving by Maud de Clare his wife, 
a daughter married to Geoffry, dean of Whalley, and John de Lascy, 
who succeeded him in his honours and estates.f 

* Baker's Cronicles, k. John, 70, 
t Holl. Chron.ii. 166. 

* Holl Chron. ii. 166. b. 
t Idem ii. 175, a. 

t Roger, surnamed Helle, had one son named John, who married the lady Alice, 
daughter of Gilbert de Aqiiila ; and after her decease he married the lady Margaret, 
daughter and coheiress of Robert, son of Saher de Quincy, Earl of Lincoln. This Ro- 
bert married Ha-s\ys, fovirth sister and coheiress of Randal Blundevil, Earl of Chester 
and Lincoln, who gave to her, in the distribution of his lands and honours, the latter 
earldom, scilicet quantum ad me pertinuit ut inde comitissa existat — from her it de- 
scended to Margaret her daughter, who, by marrying John de Lascy, brought the earl- 
dom of Lincoln into that family. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 05 

At this period, king John by his tyranical and immoral conduct, 
so incensed the nobles against him, that they reciprocally wished for his 
deposition, and upon this did Peter of Pomfret, an hermit, prophecy 
that by Ascension Day there should be no king of England, as Holling- 
shed thus writeth : * Ther was in this season an heremit, whose name 
was Peter of Pountfret, a man in greate repvtation with the common 
people, bicavse that either inspired with some spirit of prophesie as 
the people beleeued, or else hauing some notable skille in art magike, 
he was accvstomed to tell what shuld follow after. — And for so much 
as oftentimes his saieings prooued trve, great credit was giuen to him 
as to a verie prophet : which was no good conseqvence, that therefore 
his predictions comprised vndovbted euents. Naie rather, sith in this 
pseudo-prophet or false foreteller of afterclaps, these necessarie con- 
currents (namelie, 

Si sensus atq: afFectus compresserit omnes. 

Si sperneris prorsus mortalia gaiidia, sese 

Abdicet a cviris terrenis, assiduoque 

Conetur studio ad supenos extollere mentem. 

Tunc etenim sapieris fiet, poleritque futura 

Cernere, vel vigilaris vel somno oppressus merti. 

Hoc pacto cccinere olim ventura prophetae.) 
were wanting, and that he was contrarilie qualified to that which this 
heptastichon comprehendeth, necessarielie it foloweth, that he was not 
as he was taken, but rather a deluder of the people, and an instru- 
ment of satan, raised up for the inlargement of his kingdome ; as the 
sequele of this discourse importeth. — This Peter* about the firste of 
Januarie last past (1213^ had told the king that at the feaste of the as- 
cension, it shuld come to passe, that he shuld be cast out of his king- 
dome. And (whether to the intent that his words shuld be the better 
beleeued, or whether upon too muche truste of his owne cunning), he 
offered himselfe to suffer death for it, if his prophesie prooued not 
true.* 



* According to M. Paris, his prediction was, • that John should not be king the 
next Ascension-day, nor afterwards, but that the crown of England should on that day 
be transferred to another.' The original runs thus ; ' Svib his quoque diebus, erat in 
provincia eboracensi, heremita quidana Petrus nomine, qui eo quod multis futura multa 
praedixerat, sapiens dicebatur. Hie, inter alia qucE spiritu prophetice tactus viderat de 
rege Johanne ; palam coram cunctis astantibus, illud praedicando publice aserebat : 
Quod nonforet rex in die domimcoe Jscensionis proxime sequentis, nee deinceps : scd die ilia 
coronam Anglice ad alium tranjfei-ri prcedixit. Cujus assertio cum ad regis notitiam deven- 
isset, et, ipsojubente, ad ejus prsesentiam adductus fuisset, quaesixit ab eo rexj si die 
illo esset moriturus, vel quo ordine a regni solio privaretur ; Qiii respondit; Noveritis certis- 
sime quod die predicta rex non eris. Et si de mendacio convictusfuero, de me quod placueritfa- 
datis. Cui Tex,Jiat, inquit, secundum verbum tuum. Tunc rextradidit ilium Willielmo de 
Harecxirt, custodiendum, quem, idem Willielmus, custodibus et arctioribus vinculis con- 
strictum, apud corricum incarceravit, donee probaret quem exitum res haberet.' Matt. 
Par. p. 195. 

Wikes treats this hermit as an impostor for pretending to the knowledge of future 
events, which our author says belongs to God only ; ascribes his popularity to the ignor- 
ance of the vulgar > and represents him as foretelling expressly, that John should die in 
the fourteenth year of his reign. His words are too remarkable to bje omitted. * Eis- 



96 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

By the king's order he was then thrown into prison at Corf castle 
until the day appointed, when nothing occurring publicly, he and his 
son were dragged at a horse's tail from thence to Warham where they 
were both hanged. — This cruel treatment of the king towards the poor 
hermit and his son caused great dissension amongst the people, * be- 
cause that the heremit was thoughte to be a man of great vertue, and 
his Sonne nothing guiltie of the offense committed by his father (if anie 
were) against the king/* 

In the interim, Stephen Langton, with the bishops of London and 
Ely f thirsting after revenge though with the destruction of their coun- 
try, and bloodshed of their concpatriots) , petitioned the pope 'that hee 
would vouchsafe in a touch of pious compassion, to support the English 
churche being at the point of ruin.'t At their earnest solicitations the 
pope decreed by solemn sentence *That the king should bee deposed 
his kingdome, and that the pope shuld prouide some other who should 
bee deemed worthier to succeede.' Accordingly, king John resigned 
the superiority of the kingdom to Pandulphus, the pope's legate, and 
did homage to him on the day previously to the ascension day, and thus 
the prediction v/as verified although it cost the poor hermit his 
life. 

King John's grants of Gunnelby Abbey with the pool, are noted in 
the wills of Simon de Tateshalle, and William de Catelupo, dated at 
Pontefract.J 

In the 15th year of John's reign, John de Lascy agreed to pay unto 
the king 700 marks in the space of four years, for livery of all his lands 
previously inherited by his father, and to be discharged of all his fa- 
ther's debt due to the exchequer ; yet the king was to retain in his 
hands the castles of Pontefract and Dunnington, John de Lascy allow- 

dem temporibus erat quidem laicus in Anglia, nomine Petras de Punfret quem vulgo 
Petrum supienfem anglice nuncupabant, cui laicorum rusticaria simplicitas, pro eo quod 
multa prsedixerat, quae postea rei exitus approbavit, prophetiae spiritum asserebat inesse, 
tribuens ei praescientiam futurorum, quae secundum fidem catholicarn soli deo creditur 
ascribenda; diu autem prsedixerat post annum quartum decimum regni regis, regnandi 
potestatem regi finaliter eximendam, quod quidem contigit, sed alio modo quam puta- 
bat. Alludebat etiam huic praesagio revalatio facta cuidam monacho viro sancto trans- 
marine in somnis : quod ultra annos xiv. non regnaret. Et quidem anno regni sui 
quarto decimo (ut praetactum est) se et regnum suum sedi apostolicae subjugavit.' Our 
author, after expounding and confirming the truth of the hermit's prediction, by the 
king's submission to the apostolical see, proceeds to inform us, that Jolm having in- 
quired of Peter the day before he made his stibmission, how long he he thought he 
should reign, was answered, ' till three o'clock the next day at farthest :' and John was 
so highly exasperated by his reply, that he ordered him to be closely confined in Corf 
castle, with a firm resolution of bringing him to punishment, and the next year he was 
torn to pieces by horses, after having been hung upon a gallows — Chron, T. Wikes ad 
an, 1213 and 1214. 

This extraordinary prediction is authenticated by the manuscript of Wendover; 
and Polydore Virgil imputes it to the discoveries of magic, ' magicus artibus.' Speed 
judiciously suspects the whole of imposture, and imagines that the hermit was suborned 
to lessen the attachment of the people to the king. 

* HoU Chron. ii. 180. 

t Speede's Britaine, 558, 46 — Paris— Triuett—Westm— Polydore. 

t Burton's Mon. Eb. i. 394, 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 9/ 

ing for the custody thereof, 40/. per annum. — In case he should ever 
fail in his oath, he obliged himself to forfeit all his lands to the crown. 
The castle of Dunnington was afterwards razed to the ground by com- 
mand of king John, in the 17th year of his reign. 

In the noble contest between king John and his barons, were grant- 
ed the great charter of liberties, and the charta de Foresta, the natural 
birthright of the subject, which have, amongst other articles, provided 
for and taken care of their liberties and customs. — Amongst the 25 
peers ordained to see these liberties ' in euerie point obserued, was 
John de Lascie, and on their cantoning the kingdoms amongst them, 
the shires of York and Nottingham were allotted to him.' 

The pope on being made acquainted with the mutiny of the barons, 
was highly incensed at their concerted measures, and solemnly 
excommunicated them severally, * by name and in particular, as 
these, first, all the citizens of London which were authors of the mis- 
cheefe that happened by the rebellion of the said barons. Also Robert 
Fitz Walter, Saer de Quincie earle of Winchester, R, his sonne, G. de 
Mandeuille, and W. his brother the earle of Clare, and G. his sonne, 
H. earle of Hereford, R. de Percie, G. de Vescie, J. conestable of Ches- 
ter, W. de Mowbraie, Will, de Albanie, W. his sonne ; P. de Breuse, 
R. de Cressey, J. his sonne ; Ranulfe Fitz Robert, R. earle Bigot, H. 
his Sonne ; Robert de Vere, Foulke Fitz Warren, W. Mallett, W. de 
Montacute, W. Fitz Marshall, W. de Beauchampe, S. de Kime, R. de 
Montbigons, and Nicholas de Stuteuille, with diverse other j'* whilst 
on the other hand, John holding his crown as a fief of St. Peter, was 
deemed a dear son of the church, and this had such an effect upon 
John de Lascy, that having gained passports of safe conduct, he sought 
the king and made his peace with him. 

At the decease of king John, Lewes, son of Philip of France, invited 
by the barons, accepted the crown of England, when William Mar- 
shall earl of Pembroke, being anxious to place Henry, the eldest son 
of king John, then only 9 years of age, upon the throne, summoned a 
council of the lords and chief barons at Gloucester ; and bringing the 
young king into the assembly thus addressed the peers : — 

' Behold right honourable and well beloued, although we haue per- 
secvtcd the father of this yoong prince for his euil demeanor, and wor- 
thilie, yet this yoong cliilde whome here 3'^ov see before yov as he is in 
3'eeres tender, so is he pure and innocent from those his father's doo- 
jngs. Wherefore insomvch as euerie man is charged onelie with the 
burthen of his owne workes, and transgressions, neither shall the 
childe (as the scriptvre teacheth vs) beare the iniqvitie of his father : 

* HolL Chron. V-.2 p=.lSO. a. 



§8 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

we ovghte therefore of dvtie and conscience to pardon this yoong and 
tender prince, and take compassion of his age as yee see. And now 
for so much as he the king's natural! and eldest sonne, and mvst he 
ovr souereigne king, and svccessour in this kingdome, come and let 
vs appoint him ovr king and gouernor ; let vs remoue from vs this 
Lewes the French king's sonne, and suppresse his people, which are a 
confvsion and shame to ovr nation : and the yoke of their seruitvde let 
vs ca^t from off ovr shovlders.' 

The barons then, after much conference, assented to the earl's wish- 
es, and the young prince was immediately crowned king of England, 
and was placed under the protection and governance of his brother-in- 
law the said earl, by whose prudent counsels Lewes quitted the realme 
of England ; and John de Lascy, together with the rest of the barona 
who had taken part with Xewes, were absolved by the pope's legate, 
and admitted again into favour.* 

John de Lascy, with many other nobles reared the cross fPal. 21 
H. 3.) under Richard the king's brother, and prosecuted the war with 
great vigour against the Saracens, yet he seems not to have continued 
long there, as we find him amongst other barons in an assembly in the 
23rd of John's reign, in which year he obtained the sheriffalty of Ches- 
hire, was appointed governor of Chester castle, and had the returns of 
all royal writs throughout the wapontakes of Staincross and Osgold- 
cross, in this county ; and also obtained a privilege * that all merchants 
and strangers coming by water to the town of Pontefract should be free 
from; payment of any toll. (Rol de Ehor.) 

At the marriage of Henry with the lady Eleanor, daughter of the 
earl of Provence, John de Lascy attended upon him in the procession, 
* and remoued wher the presse was thicke, with his rod or warder, 
to keep the populace from crowding near him.'t He confirmed the 
lands given to the monks at Bjdand, in Deneby, Clayton, Flockton, 
AUerton, Crossby, West Brereton, Wykesden, Wynddam, Morlans, 
and Mershaw, with other lands of his fee.J To the monks of Selby 
Abbey, he confirmed the grants of Chelleslow, in Bradford-dale, the 
gift of Robert de Everingham. Witnessed by Adam de Novo Mercato, 
Jordan Foliott, &c.|| and gave to them 40 acres of land in Snaith.§ 

John died on the 20th of July, in the year 1240, leaving issue by 
Margaret his wife, two daughters and Edmund his only son and heir. 
The daughters were Svint for to court, and educated with the daughters^ 
of the king ; and Edmund being a minor at his father's decease was a 
ward of the king. The queen incited by his large possessions, anxi- 

* Math. Paris, 303. Holl Chron. ii. 201. t HoU. Chron. ii. 219. 

t Burton's Mon. 390. || Idem 395. ^ Dug. Bar. i. 233. Dodsworth's MS&. 36» 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. \f9 

-ously desired to marry him to one of her own relations. Accordingly 
Edmund was married to the lady Alice, surnamed the queen, daughter 
of the marquess of Saluces, in Italy, brought over by Peter de Savoy, 
earl of Richmond j at which many of the English nobility were .greatly 
oflfended.* 

Edmund obtained, in the 35th year of Henry III. a charter for free 
warren,t in all his demesne lands belonging to the honor of Ponte- 
fract, as well as a charter for a weekly market, to be held every Wed- 
nesday at Tanshelf, within his lordship of Pontefract, and an annual 
fair for three days, on the eve of the day of, and the morrow after, the 
feast of the Holy Trinity. He confirmed all the grants of lands in his 
barony of Pontefract, which were in the possession of the monks of the 
abbey of Roch, or de Rupe, in the deanery of Doncaster, A.D. 1208 -yX 
and quitclaimed his right in Giltsteede to the monks of Selby Abbey, 
conditionally, that they should celebrate two masses weekly in the 
chapel of St. Lawrence, in Snaith.|| He died during the life- time of his 
mother, and never assumed the title of earl of Lincoln. By his wife 
Alice, surnamed the queen, he left issue, Henry de Lascy, who was 
the last and greatest of the noble and illustrious line of the Lascies, 

Henry de Lascy married th« lady Margaret, daughter and sole 
heiress of William Longespee, earl of Salisbury, by whom he had two 
sons, Edmund and John, and two daughters, Alice and Joan* Report 
^ays, that Edmund was drowned in a well at Denhigh Castle, ^nd that 
John, when young, running hastily along the ramparts ^f -Pontefract 
Castle, fell from one of the turrets and was killed. Of the daughters, 
Alice only survived, and was married to Thomas, son of Edmund earl 
of Lancaster ; by which marriage, he claimed and had the same rights 
and privileges, * which aneientlie belonged to Roger de Lascy, and 
other the conestables of Chester, concerning the fines of forreners and 
others. This haue I the more willingiie declared, that it may appeare 
in what estimation and credit the Lascies, conestables of Chester by 
inheritance, lived in their time ; of whose high vallianee, and likewise 
of other of that familie, highlie commended for their noble chiualrie in 
martiall enterprises ye may read in sundrie histories at large.' 

* Holl.Chron.ii.216.240. 

t Free Warren, is a franchise granted for preservation or custody of beasts and 
fowls of warren; which, being ferae naturae, every one had a right to kill as he could ; 
but upon the introduction of the forest laws, at the Norman conquest, these animals be- 
ing looked upon as royal game, and the sole property of our savage monarchs, this 
franchise of free warren was invented to protect them ; by giving the grantee a sole and 
exclusive power of killing such game so far as his warren extended, on condition of his 
preventing other persons. Manwood informs us, ' that the hare, the coney, the phea- 
sant, and the partridge, were beasts and fowls of warren ; and no other.' Sir Edward 
Cooke, mentions as beasts and fowls of warren, roes, rails, and quails, woodcocks, mal- 
lards, and herons. Henry I. granted to Henry Keighly, knight, the privilege of free 
warren within his own manor,' ita quod nullus intret teiras illas ad furandum in iis, velad 
aliquid capiendum quod ad Wdrrennam pertineat sine licentia et voluntate ipsius Henrici et sue- 
cessorum ejus. Free warren gave to the lord of a manor an exclusive right to hunt and Jciil 
the game therein. 

i Moa. Ang. i. 837. 1) Burton's Mon. 405, 

LofC. 



100 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Henry de Lascy confirmed the toft and croft in Gomersall, of 
RoUandiis de Tylly, to the priory of Nostall ; and which grant his 
grandmother Alice, at the request of John de Lascy, had previously 
confirmed in the year 1235. He was the confidential friend of Edward 
I. whom he much resembled in courage, activity, prudence^ and in- 
deed in every quality which can adorn a soldier or a statesman. In 
the first year of Edward^s reign, he besieged and took the castle of 
Chartley, in Staffordshire ; which Robert de Ferrers, after his attainder, 
held from Haimon le Strange, to whom Henry III. had granted it. 
In the sixth year he granted a charter to his burgesses of Pon- 
tefract, confirming the grants and charters of Roger de Lascy, his ances- 
tor ; and granted another charter for the erection of stalls. He was a 
witness with L. Furnivalle, Sir Wm. son of Thomas, and Roger, son of 
Thomas Fitzwilliam, Sir Nicholas Wortley, Sir Hugh Eland, Sir Rich- 
ard de Bernake, and Sir Robert de Eccleshall, knights, to the deed in 
which Thomas Coke granted the manor of Medthorpe to the lord Hel- 
yas and his lady Dyonisia.* In the year 1290, he was appointed first 
commissioner for rectifying abuses in the administration of justice, 
particularly in that of common pleas, an office in which he behaved 
with the most exemplary strictness and fidelity. Having no male issue, 
he yielded up to the king, in the 20th year of his reign, his castle and 
barony of Pontefract, with all the manors, lands, and other rights ap- 
pertaining thereto ; yet this seems to have been conditionally, as 
Edward, by his charter, dated Newcastle on Tyne, on the 28th of 
December, in the 21st year of his reign, regranted the castle and honor 
of Pontefract unto Henry de Lascy, and the heirs of his body, with 
the remainder to his royal brother Edmund, earl of Lancaster, and his 
heirs, and for want of such issue, to the king and his heirs. Writs 
for the delivery of the castles dependent on the crown of Scotland, 
were granted by Edward to John Baliol, in the castle of Norham, 
in the presence of de Henry Lascy, and other nobles, on the 20th 
day of November, 1292 ; and, at the same time, John Baliol was ci'e- 
ated king of Scotland, and did fealty to Edward. 

In the year 1293, he was deputed by the king to the French court, 
' to arrange conciliatory measures, and require that by his assent ther 
might some waie be prouided with speede by them and their councell 
for some competent remedie touching such harmes and losses by sea, 
as his people had sustained.'f In the year following, he obtained a 
charter to hold markets in several places, and amongst the rest, a 
market at Pontefract every Wednesday, and a fair upon the eve of 

* E chartis Francis Rokeby. Dod. MSS, 
t Holl.Chron.ii.291, 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 101 

Palm-sunday, and the three following days. He attended the earl of 
Lancaster in an expedition against the Welch rebels, during this year, 
which proved a disastrous one ; for when they had approached near 
the castle of Denbigh, about St. Martin's day, they were attacked by a 
strong force of Welchmen, and entirely defeated. 

In the year 1296, about the conversion of St. Paul, in January, he 
accompanied Edmund, earl of Lancaster, the brother of the king, into 
Gascoigne, together with twenty-six bannerets and 700 men at arms, 
besides a great multitude of other people. They arrived at Blay about 
the middle of Lent, and remained there until Easter ; at which time so 
many Gascoins resorted to their standard, that they were 2000 men at 
ai'ms. In the year 1297, on the Thursday before the purification of our 
lady, he and the lord John St. John, departed from Bayonne, * with 
an army of 600 men at armes and 1000 footmen,' (as Abington saith,) to- 
wards Bellegard, a place then besieged by the earl of Arthois ; and 
when near a wood, three miles distant from the fortress, they divided 
themselves into two divisions, John St. John leading the first, and the 
earl of Lincoln the second. After an arduous struggle, the lord John 
St. John, together with Sir William Mortimer, Sir William Burmeng- 
ham, and others, were taken prisoners, and sent to Paris. The earl of 
Lincoln, having retired back at the first onset, escaped under favojir of 
the night, and reached Perforate, and from thence returned to Bayonne. 
In the summer following, Henry, earl of Lincoln, journied towards 
Thoulouse, wasting and spoiling the countryaround ; and having winter- 
ed at Bayonne, and a truce being agreed upon between the kings of 
England and France, he returned home about the beginning of the 
yeg^' following. 

At the demise of Edmund, earl of Lancaster, he was appointed to 
the post of commander in chief, of the ai*my of Gascony, and viceroy of 
Aquitane. In 1298 he raised the siege of St. Catherine, near Thou- 
louse, and expelled the French from the confines of the country. In 
1299 he, with the earls of Hereford and Norfolk, led the vanguard at 
the memorable battle of Falkirk, in Scotland ; in which struggle the 
Scots lost 200 knights, and between 15 and 20,000 men,* and the Eng- 
lish obtained a decisive and brilliant victory. At the onset of this 
fight, the Scots raised such a tremendous shout, that king Edward's 
horse, frightened at the noise, plunged, and throwing its noble rider, 
broke two of his ribs ; yet notwithstanding this, Edward led his troops 
to the charge. 

In the year 1300, queen Margaret being pregnant, resided at Pon- 
tefract, whilst Edward was engaged in the Scottish war, and being 

*N4c. Triaet, Math, West. Polydor. Holl. Chron= ii, 308, 



1(3 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

fond of the chase, went forth attended by her nobles, on the first of 
June, to enjoy the sports of field, and on being taken ill, was delivered 
of * hir first sonne at Brotherton, a place in Yorkshire, not farre from 
Pountfret.'* The royal infant, at her desire, was named Thomas, from 
Thomas archbishop of Canterbmy, to whom she prayed in her extrem- 
ity, and from his native place he was styled Brotherton. Leland, 
speaking of this circumstance in his Itinerary, 105, thus wi'ites : 
* Le^•inge the Wathelinge Streate on the righte honde, 1 went to Bro- 
therton, wher Thomas sunne to king Edward I. was borne, the queene 
by chaunce, laboring as she went on huntinge.' The house in which 
tradition states Thomas to have been born, was near the church of 
Brotherton, within an inclosure of about twenty acres, surrounded by 
a trench and a wall, and the tenants are obliged by the tenure of their 
land, to keep this part suiTounded by a wall of stone. Thomas was 
afterwards, by his brother Edward II. made duke of NorfoIk,f and the 
office of mareschall of England was conferred on him by parliament, 
and his male heirs lawfully begotten, which his descendant the present 
duke of Norfolk enjoys. In the parliament of Carlisle, \ilt. Ed. I. 
Henry de Lascy had precedence of all the peers of the realm after the 
Prince of Wales ; and after the death of Edwai'd I. he retained the 
confidence of Edward II. for during his absence, when engaged in the 
wars with Scotland, he was made governor of England. In the year 
1309, he, with other nobles in parliament assembled, procured the 
banishment of Sir Piers Gaveston, the favourite and companion of the 
king, who had been previously banished by Edward I. ' for riotously 
breaking the park of Walter Langton, bishop of Chester, and encom'- 
aging the prince in lewdness.' Although he had banished his favouEJte, 
much against his will, yet through the intercession of the barons, he 
made his letters patent, and appointed nobles to see them put into 
execution,^ 

* Some write, that kyng Edward the first, on his deathe bed charg- 
ed the earles of Lincolne, Warwicke, and Pembroke, to foresee that 
the said Piers returned not again unto England, leaste by his euill 
example he mighte induce his sunne the prince to lewdness as before 
he had alreadie doone.' |i ' 

* In the year 1300, cal. Jimii, was borne the first sunne of Quene Margarete at 
Brotherton or Broyerton, which is yn Yorkshir.' — Lei. Col. ii. 140. 

t In the Cottonian library is a book of grants, beautifully illuminated, among 
which, there is one of Edward II. giving a commission to Thomas de Brotherton, ap- 
pointing him his marshal of England. Over this painting is written, Literoe, K. Edwar- 
di, constituentes Thomam de Brotherton, Comitem Nottingham Marescellam Angliae. 

This curious painting is richly embossed with gold and elegantly coloured ; the 
king sets on a light red throne, dressed in a blue robe, lined with ermine; the armour of 
Thomas is a light blue, except the body, which is painted red ; and the lion argent, and 
the joints of the armour at the elbows, and knees, which are gold ; the back ground is 
a deep sea green j the letter is white, shaded with red, inclosed in a gold square. 

t H<mi»g8hed'3 Chronicles, ii, 319. & Idem ii. 320, Rhymer, i. 1043. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 103 

Heniy, the last and greatest man of the line of the Lascies, died 
on the 5th day of Febniary, in the year 1310, and in the 5th year of the 
reign, of Edward II. at 60 years of age, and was buried * in the new 
worke at St. Paules,'* and the eaii of Gloucester was chosen governor 
in his place. 

Thus terminated the noble line of the Lascy ancestry, — a race en- 
rolled in the brilliant page of history, as brave and valiant, prudent and 
courageous. 

* Holl. Chron. ii. 320. 



104 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



SECTION II. 

On the death of Henry de Lascy, the castle of Pontefract, with the 
whole estate of the Lascies, were transferred in the proper form of 
conveyance,* to Thomas earl of Lancaster,t who had married Alice, 
the only surviving branch of the noble family of the Lascies. The cas- 
tle of Pontefract then became the baronial mansion of this illustrious 
warrior,! who was the son of Edmund, who was the fifth son of Henry 
HI. 

Henry de Lascy foresaw, that Gaveston's return from banishment 
f^should it ever occur,^ would become a source of calamities to the 
English realm, and embroil Edward with the most potent nobles. 
* Lieng on his deathe bed, he requested (as was reported,) Thomas 
carle of Lancaster, who had married his daughter, that in anie wise 
he shuld stand wdth the other lordes in defense of the commonwelth, 

* Formula transcriptionis, by a short deed. G. 

t The arms of the earl of Lancaster, were represented on the eastern illuminated 
•window in the south side aisle of Selby church. 

Arms. — Parti per pale gides, three lions passant gardant in pale or, — Under a label 
of three points, azjtres each charged with as many fleur de lis, or, for Lancaster; and or, 
a lion rann-psLnt purpzire, for Lascy ; a crest, a dragon. It is worthy of observation, that 
the great shield on his counter seal, is charged with a label of five points 

The figiire of Lancaster, (Tide plate) is'from the large seal in the Cottonian library, 
and exhibits one of the earliest instances of an emblazoned surcoat, and the first among 
the seals of the royal family, bearing a crest and lambrequin, or mantling, suspended 
from the helmet. This crest is a weevem or dragon, and is repeated on the horses head 
between a pair of straight horns. It seems that the custom of embellishing the capari- 
sons of the horses, with the arms of the rider, is anterior to the fashion of wearing em- 
blazoned surcoats, as the seals of the two first Edwards testify. The most ancient, 
noted, is the seal of Saer de Quincy, first eart earl of "W^inchester. His arms are on the 
banner, shield, and caparisons of the horse. If we refer the making of the seal to the 
date of his creation it will be as early as 120"; if to the year of his death, no later than 1219, 
The first instance of an emblazoned surcoat, is in the lives of the two Offas, by the hand 
of Mat. Paris, which cannot be much earlier than 1250. Tliose painted on the monu- 
mental figures of Robert of Normandy, and William Longspee, are to all appearances, 
done long after the tombs were constructed. 

t Genus Thomce Lancastriensis. — Henricus rex Angliae tertius a conquestu ex tix- 
ore legitima duos suscepit filios, Edwardum primogenitumo, et Edmundum. Edwardo 
sibi siiccessuro contulit Cestrise comitatum, Edmundo junior! filio consulatum Lancas- 
triae assignavit. Et post eum comes Lecestrise, Simon de Montforte et comes de Ferrariis 
occubuissent in bello contra regem moto apud Evesham et eor\im comitatus ad manum 
regis fuissentper eskeatum devoluti. Rex praedicto Edmundo iitrumque contulit consula- 
tum, sibi et haeredibus suis jure perpetuo possidendum, qui licet tres comitaliis, videlicet 
Lancastriae Leycestrise, et de Ferrariis obtincret, nomen tamen Lancastriae retinuit sibi sem- 
per. Duxit aiitem in uxorem mulierum nobilem, quondam reqis Navarrae, conjugem nu- 
per viri solatii destitutam. Cujus filia haeres effecta Navarrae, filio et haeredi regis'franciae 
maritatur. Quamobrem extunc regnum Navarrae regno franciae est unitum. Genuitautem 
exdictadomina Thomam de Lancastria, de quo fit sermo et duos alios filios nobiles Hen- 
ricum silicet et Johannem. Qui omnes ex parte matris eoiiim fratres erant reginae Franco- 
urm. Tgitur cum Edmundus in senectutebona hominem excussit, Tliomas jure hjere- 
ditario, comes Lancastriae Leycestriae et de Ferrariis est effectus. Processu temporis 
dictus Thomas filiam unicam comitis Lincolniae disponsavit, videlicet Henrici de Lascy 
unde de magno major effectus, post decessum dicti comitis Lincolniensis, qui etiam et 
Salisburiss comes fuit quinque comitatuum dominus existebat. — W.'^lsingham. 



•HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 105 

And maintaine his quarrell againste the eaiie of Cornewall, which re- 
-quest earle Thomas vowed to performe.'* 

Whilst Piers remained an exile in Ireland, Edward lavished upon 
liim his favours, and created him his depaty there ; and the lords per- 
<;eiving that the royal affection for the favourite increased rather than 
diminished, gave their sanction for his return home, thinking hy this 
step to retain amity on both sides. The king, rejoicing at the return 
•of Gaveston, met him at Chester, in the year 1309, and conducted him 
to court. In the year 1310, dissensions again arose amongst the nobles, 
and Edward fearing for his favourite, whose absence he could not endure, 
;]^laced him in Bamborough castle, for safety against his enemies. In 
the year following, he raised a great power, and together with Gave- 
ston, created earl of Cornwall, and the earls of Gloucester and Warren, 
marched to Berwick, against Robert Bruce ; but Robert avoiding a 
•battle, the earl of Cornwall fortified Roxburgh, and the earls of Glou- 
•cester and Warren defended Norham, whilst Edward lay at Berwick. 

Lancaster proceeded towards the king, to do him homage for the 
earldom of Lincoln, which descended to him in the right of his wife, and 
being counselled not to go out of the realm to the king, great dissatis- 
faction and strife rose amongst them, and doubts were entertained 
tliat civil warfare would ensue. At length the king came to Hanger- 
ston, four miles distant from Berwick, where the earl did him homage, 
and they parted in apparent good friendship. 

The barons, however, incensed at the haughty demeanour of 
Gaveston, and perceiving the mischief that daily followed and increased, 
* assembled at Lincolne, and ther took counceil together, and con- 
cluded eftsoons to banish him out of the realme.'-f Accordingly they 
made their appearance in parliament at Westminster, in military ai'ray, 
and compelled the monarch to banish his favourite into Flanders. About 
the Christmas, 1311, ordainers were then chosen by the nobles, to cor- 
rect the abuses of government, and Lancaster was one of those so 
entrusted with the administration. 

The monarch used every endeavour to conciliate the most power- 
ful of his enemies, and with that view conferred upon Lancaster the 
high office of hereditary steward of England ; yet so soon as they had 
retired to their respective castles^ he adopted the fatal resolution of 
revoking t3ie lords* decree, and recalling from exile tlie cause of ail his 
troubles. About Candlemas, he journied towards Chester, where meet- 
ing with Gaveston, he lavished upon him his favours without measure, 
granting him great honours, and disposing of all offices as ho wiUed. 
The barons wJien they heard that Gaveston had again landed in Eng- 

* Hollingsljed's Chronicles, ii, 320. f Idem. 
P 



106 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

land, kad was the confidant of the king, were bent upon his destruction, 
but assembling at the parliament convoked at Stamford, they were 
soothed by the promises of their sovereign, and the apparent humility 
of his favourite ; and after much deliberation consented he should re- 
main in England. They then returned to their fortresses, and the 
flame of disaftection was quenched but for a while ; for it was fated 
that this tranquility from Carnarvon's realms should soon again be 
banished. 

A knight was seized, passing by Pomfret, with a packet of letters, 
sealed with the royal seal of England, and directed to the king of Scots. 
On opening them, they wer« found to be the concerting of a plot for 
the murder of the earl of Lancaster. The messenger of this packet 
was immediately executed, his head set upon one of the turrets of the 
castle, and the letters reserved to witness the intended plot. This 
caused fresh commotions, and whether or no it were fabricated by the 
barons, the circumstance reflected on the king, and, consequently, 
great numbers flocked to the standard of the earl.* 

Restored to favour, and reinstated in power, Gaveston resumed his 
wonted haughtiness and ostentation, and demeaned himself still worse 
than heretofore, particularly towards the nobles, against whom he used 
very abusive and reproachful language. * He called the earle of Glou- 
cester, bastard j the earle of Lincolne, latlie decesed, bursten bellie ; 
the earle of VVarwicke, the blacke hound of Arderne ; the earle of Pem- 
broke, Joseph the Jew ; and the earle of Lancaster, churle.' In the 
splendor of his dress, and the number of his retinue, he outshone every 
rival. In the different tournaments, he had by his good fortune un- 
horsed the earls of Lancaster, Hereford, Pembroke, and Warren, all 
valiant men at arms ; and elated v/ith his own superiority, he ceased 
not to despise, to ridicule and scoff" at his opponents ; and thus was 

' Carnarvon's minion stout in wrong. 

Supple and stiff by turns, whose tongue 
With insolent disdain. 

Braved England's barons to the joust.' 

Lancaster, and the rest of the barons, disgusted at his arrogance 
and arbitrary management of Edward and the English realm, absented 
themselves from parliament. This, however, did not awaken the king 
to a just sense of his danger, from their resentment, and they again 
resumed the falchion and the vshield, and, in open defiance of all laws, 
demanded a total change in the form of government, and the perpetual 
banishment of Gaveston. Edward again submitted, — again prevari- 
cated, and the nobles had scarcely laid aside their arms, ere they were 
iigain provoked to resume them with resentment highly inflamed, and 

* Baker's Chronicles, Edward Jil. 113. 



1 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 107 

hatred greatly increased against the unworthy minion of the court, 
whose destruction seemed now to be inevitable. 

* The harte of the earle was so inchanted with ambition and super- 
eminent honour, tbat he wrote to the earl of Hereford, and other lords, 
that they should make haste to come to him at Pomfret, and promising 
from thenceforth to be their generall and their leader.' Rejoicing at 
this, the earl of Hereford, the lords Roger Damorie, Hugh de Audeley^ 
the younger, Bartholomew de Badlesmere, Roger de CliflEbrd, John 
Gifford de Bremesfield, Henry Tieis, Thomas Manduit, John de Wil- 
lington, with divers others, came to Pontefract, and were graciously 
received by the earl. 

In the meanwhile, Edward's followers inteicepted three unsealed 
letters, and a packet containing three other letters, brought fx'om 
Scotland to the insurgent barons. On being opened, one of them bore 
the seal of lord Thomas Randulph, earl of Murray, and lieutenant to 
Robert Bruce, king of Scotland ; and contained a safe conduct for Sir 
Thomas Topclive, chaplain, to go and return from Scotland in safety j 
another bore the seal of Sir James Douglas, being a safe conduct for 
other persons ; a third bore the signet of the earl of Murray, for the 
safe conduct of John de Mowbray and John de Clifford, with 40 horses 
and pages, into Scotland ; the fourth was from James Douglas, direct- 
ed for king Arthur, (a feigned name ;) the fifth was from James Doug- 
las to lord Ralph Nevill ; and the sixth and last bore no seal or inscrip- 
tion, but run as follows : — 

* You shall understond my lord, that the communication before- 
hand had, is now brought to effect. For the earle of Hereford, the 
lord's Roger Damorie, Hugh de Audeley, the yoonger, Bartholomew 
de Badlesmer, Roger de Clifford, John Gifford, Henrie Tieis, Thomas 
Manduit, John de Willington, and all other are come to Pomfret, 
and are readie to make you good assurance, so that you will performe 
covenant with them, to wit, for your coming to aid us, and to go with 
us into England and Wales, and to live and die with us in our quarrelL 
We, therefore, beseech you to assign us day and place wher we may 
meete, and we will be readie to accomplishe fuUie our businesse ; and 
we beseech you, to make us a safe conduct for thirtie horses, that we 
may in safetie come to your partes.' 

Whilst these things were transacting, Lancaster and the disaffect- 
ed nobles marched from Pontefract castle, under the semblance 
and pretext of proceeding to an intended tournament, and suddenly 
appeared before the city of York, where the king then was ; who as 
soon as he had gained intelligence of their movement, and knowing 
himself to be unable to withstand their forces, immediately set out 



108 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACt. 

with his favourite to Newcastle. The barons, however, pursued h(i« 
so closely, that he had just time to escape from thence to Tynemoutlr,. 
fMay 5th, 1312,) where the queen then was ; and understanding that 
Newcastle was taken by the lords, he took shipping and sailed from 
thence with his favourite, to Scarborough, where he left him in the 
* strong castil ther, not easie to be woone,'* and rode forwards to War- 
wick, to recruit his forces and unfurl the royal standard. 

Lancaster, on gaining intelligence of Gaveston's refuge, sent the~ 
earls of Pembroke, Percy, and Clifford with all speed to Scarborough, 
whilst he posted his forces betwixt the king and the favourite, in order 
to cut off all communication with each other. The lords then besieged 
the castle of Scarborough, (May 17,) and Gaveston seeing no means of 
escape, surrendered himself into their power, requesting only to be 
allowed to see the king's face. Edward, hearing of the surrender of 
Scarborough castle, and the capture of his ' well-beloved familiar, sent 
speedilie to the lords requiring them to spare his life, and that he 
miglite be brought to his^ presence, promising withall, that he would 
see them fuUie satisfied in all their requests againste him.' Pembroke- 
then taking him into custody, promised to the lords, upon forfeiture 
of all he possessed, that after he had gratified the wish of the king, 
he would yield him up to them ' in such state and condition as he re- 
ceiued him.f Accordingly when the barons had consented to his pro- 
posal^ he conducted him towards Deddington castle, in Oxfordshire, 
where his wife then was, and being desirous of visiting her, he entrusted 
him to Ms servants to conduct him to Wallingford. 

The earl of Warwick, hearing of the absence of Pembroke from 
the party, and knowing how feeble the guard was to which Gaveston 
was entrusted, swore that the favourite should feel the teeth of the- 
black hound of Arderne, and accordingly, hastened to the place 
where they rested for the night, and resolved upon gaining him as- 
his prisoner. Gaveston had retired to his couch, without any suspicion- 
of danger, as the earls of Pembroke and Percy were bound for his 
appearance to the king ; yet 'ere the dawn had streaked the horizon- 
he ^vas peremptorily summoned to dress and leave his chamber. At 
the gate, his astonishment was excited by his former guards being 
changed for those of his greatest enemy, the earl of Warwick. He 
was then mounted on a mule, and proceeded towards Warwick, where 
he was received with shouts of triumph and martial music. The barons 
immedilately assembled there, to decide his fate; and after a long- 

« Tliis castle was built about the j'car 1136, bj- William le Gros, eavle of Alber- 
marlc, and Holderness; a nobleman described by an early chronicler, as Juvenis stren^ 
tiissimus, in avmis multum exercitus,— Hinderwell's Hist, of Scarbro. 

+ Holl Ciiron.ii. 321 a 26, 



tif^rcmV OF PONTEFRACT. 109 

deHbei*atibli, a proposal M^as madfe to save his life, seeing that flie king: 
Would be very grievously ve^ed at his death ; when a voice replied, 
* You have caught the fox, if you let him go, you will have to catch 
him again ;' and * an ancient graue man amongst them, exhorted 
them to vse the occasion now offered, and not let slip the meane to 
deliuer the realme of such a dangerous person, that had wroughte so 
much mischeefe, and might ttu-ne them all to such perill, as afterward 
they shuld -not be able to auoid, nor find shift how to remedie it.' 
Being thus persuaded, he was sentenced to fall beneath the axe of the 
executioner ; and on hearing the sentence pronounced against him, 
he fell at the feet of Lancaster, and implored in vain his pity and pro- 
tection. He was then conveyed to Bledlow Hill, (sometimes called' 
Blacklow, Gavershfeath, and Gaversuch.)* a place one mile distant 
from Warwick castle, on the road to Coventry, ' wher he had his head 
smitten from his shoulders, the twentieth day of June, being Tuesday, 
a just rewarde for so scornefuU and contemptuous a merchant, as in 
respect of himselfe (1>icause he was in the princes favour,^ esteemed 
the nobles of the land, as men of such an inferioritie, as that in com- 
parison of him they deserued no little wit or mite of honour. But lo ! 
the vice of ambition, accompanied with a rable of other outrages, euen 
a reproachful end. With euerlasting marke of infamie, which he pulled 
by violent meanes on himselfe with the cords of his owne lewdnesse, 
a'nd cbtild not escape this fatal fall : for 

Ad mala patrata sunt atra theatra parata. 

This Gaveston was the son of a French gentleman, who had done good 
service for king Edward the first, in France ; and for his sake he 
was educated with the prince.' 

The news of the fate of the favourite, threw the king into par- 
oxysms of grief, which gradually subsided into a fixed and determined 
revenge. He retxu*ned from Berwick to York, where he was met by 
Pembroke, who obtained his favour by proving his innocence in Gave- 
ston's death, and reciting the stratagem Warwick had used to gain 
possession of the favourite, whilst he was absent from them on a visit 
ta Ms countess, 'th.fe approach of the barons to Dunstaple, and their 
I'esolute demands reaching the king's ears, at the same time with the 
pacific exhortations of the king of France, and the birth of a son and heir, 
wholly obliterated for a while, the untimely fate of Gaveston from his 
mind. Conferences were held, and though Lancaster was absent, yet 
terms of reconciliation were agreed upon. 

The parties, however, still viewed each other with distrust and 
aversion, and the real flame of animosity seemed only smothered for a 

* Holl.ChroTi.ii,321.a. 55. 



110 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

time. The king had vowed vengeance for the death of Gaveston, and 
the rancour which was kindled betwixt them, was blazed abroad. They 
accused each other of a clandestine alliance with the Scottish king, 
and Lancaster avowed he had intercepted an instrument signed by 
Edward himself. The royalists retorted the charge, and the eai'l offered 
wager of battle with any chief who should renew the accusation. 

About this time, (9, 10 Ed. II. A.D. 1315,) a knight of Lancashire, 
named Sir Adam Banister, raised war against his lord, the earl of Lan- 
caster, but he was taken about the feast of St. Martin, and beheaded.* 
Another circumstance happened about this period to the earl, which, 
sorely vexed him. His countess was carried off from her house at 
Caneford, in Dorsetshire, to the castle of John, earl of Warren, at Rye- 
gate, by Richard de St. Maurice, or St. Martin, a knight in the train of 
the earl of Warren, of a most deformed figure. He claimed the lady 
in consequence of a contract previous to her marriage with the earl ; 
alleging that he was formerly contracted and had lien with her, which 
she the greatest and noble inheritrix of her time, did openlie confesse 
to her immortall infamie ; incurring ("as Walsingham saith,J the pub- 
lic note of a most filthie strumpet.' * This deformed elfe had mightie 
seconds and abettors ; and it being brought into the king's court, at 
Westminster, he demanded and obtained the earldoms ofLincolne 
and Salisburie, in her right; and in the meane time, the name and 
honor of Thomas the great earle was baffled as it were, by a light and 
wicked woman.'f 

This lady, the heiress of the family of Lascy, at an early period, 
was infamous for her amours and intrigues. She was married to Lan- 
caster when only nine years old, and when arrived at the age of nine- 
teen, carried on an illicit amour with the earl of Warren. He built 
Sandal castle, near Wakefield, where, having taken the countess of 
Lancaster, he detained her for some time. In an affray concerning 
this lady, between the retainers of Lancaster and Warren, commenced 
that fatal tragedy in which Sir John Elland, of Elland, and so many 
other valiant knights lost their lives. J 

The countess of Lancaster survived the earl but a short time, 
as she died in the year 1322, without issue, in the sixty-seventh, 
year of her age, and was buried at the conventual church of Ber- 
lin. |I It is very probable, that this intrigue of the countess, was a 
contrivance of the king to vex Lancaster, ' for he euer soughte occasion 
how to worke him displeasure, and Alice, to her eternal disgrace,, 
voluntarily averred it on public examination to be the truth. 

* Hon, Chron. ii. 322. 

t Speede's Britain, 657, 30. 

t Watson's Halifax, 176. Whittaker's Whalley, 145. 

y Willis, 945, York. 193. Tetlow's Hist, of Pontcfract. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. Ill 

Lancaster, gi-ieved at this attack on his honour and his fortune, 
applied to the king in hopes of obtaining redress ; but the king 
refused his interference in the aflfair, and even threatened to punish him 
for his ostentatious arrogance and presumption. He then resolved to 
obtain that justice which was denied him by his sovereign, at the point 
<»f his sword, and immediately assembled an army amounting to 18,000 
men ; when Edward, learning of the magnitude of his army, applied 
to the Pope's legate to ward off the threatened danger. Meanwhile 
the Scots having violated the negociation contracted between them 
and the English, about mid-lent, 1318, took the town of Berwick, and 
laid waste the greater part of Northumberland, even to Newcastle 
upon Tyne. In the month of May following, they came to Ripon, 
where they staid three days, spoiling the country around ; but de- 
parted from the town, on receiving 1000 marks not to burn it, as they 
they had also for the towns of Northallerton and Boroughbridge. On 
their return they burnt Knaresborough, and Skipton in Craven, which 
they had first sacked ; and thus passing through the midst of the 
country, burning and plundering all in their way, they reached Scot- 
land with a great number of cattle, besides prisoners both men and 
women. Lancaster viewing the ravages of the Scots and the reduc- 
tion of Bei*wick as a national disgrace, and uniting his forces with 
those of his sovereign, affairs began to wear a pleasanter prospect ; 
and in the month of August, 1318, * they came to talk togither in a 
plaine beside Leicester, where they were made good freendes to the 
outward shew.'* 

The following year, Lancaster with his troops accompanied the 
king to the siege of Berwick; when, the king promising the govern- 
ance of Berwick to Hugh Spencer, the younger, who was now grown 
greatly in favour with the king, dissensions again burst forth amongst 
them, and Lancaster and his partizans quitted the field of war. The 
Scots meanwhile passed the English host, and coming hastily into the 
marches of Yorkshire, carried fire and sword throughout the country; 
and meeting with the Yorkshire forces, amounting to 10,000 men, at a 
place called Myton, about ten miles from York, a fierce struggle ensued, 
when the Scots slew 3,000 of the English troops, and defeated them en- 
tirely ; and Edward returned with his discomfited' host to York. After 
Epiphane, in 1321, the Scots again ravaged the country about Durham, 
for the space of fifteen days or more. * The knights and gentlemen of 
the north parts did come unto the earl of Lancaster that laie the same 
time at Pomfret, offering to go foorth with him to give the enemies 
l)attell, if he would assist them ; but the earle seemed that he had no 

* Hon Chron. ii. 324, a. 42. 



112 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

lust to %ht In defense of his prince, that soughte to oppresse him 

wrongfullie, (as he tooke it,) and therefore he dissembled the matter, 
and the Scots returned at their pleasure without encounter.'* 

Edwai-d unfortvmately could not exist without favourites, a,nd being 
of loose morals, he chose persons of corrupt and most wicked living 
to be of his privy council. He detested the admonition of his nobles, 
and lavished his bounty and royal favours upon his worthless minions 4 
and amongst these were the two Spencers, Hugh the father, and 
Hugh the son. The sight of these evU doings filled the breasts of 
Lancaster and the other barons with disgust ; and an opportunity very 
soon presented presented itself, when they again commenced open 
acts of violence and warfare. 

The lord William de Bruce, who enjoyed large possessions in the 
inarches of Wales, having become embarrassed in circumstances from 
want of good government, offered to sell a certain portion Of his 
lands, called Gower's lands, i5'^ing in the marches, to divers noblemen, 
who had lands contiguous, as the earl of Hereford, and the two lords 
Mortimer, uncle and nephew. The lord Mowbray, who had mai'ried 
the only daughter of lord Bruce, thought also to have possessed it in 
right of his wife ; and the younger Spencer, then created lord cham- 
berlain, coveting the lands, as they lay near unto his, found such 
means through the king's favour as to rob the lords of theii' poi'chase, 
and Mowbray of his inheritance .f 

The earl of Hereford then complained to Lancaster of the presump- 
tuous dealings of the Spencers, who now held the reins of government 
in the same arbitrary manner as Gaveston had formerly done, and a 
council was held at Sherborn, composed of ' the said eailes of Lancas- 
ter and Hereford, with the lords Roger Tuchet, Roger Clifford, Jocelin 
Deieuille, Roger Bernsfield, the two Mortimers, William de Sullie, 
William de Elmbrige, John Gifford, of Brimesfield, and Henry Tieis, 
with other nobles, knights, and men of name ;' who all sware to stand 
by each other, till they had mended the state of the realm.' The nobles, 
however, were afterwards willing to have submitted themselves to 
the king, but Edward had issued a . proclamation, on the fourteenth 
of March, commanding the lords Mowbray, Clifford, and Deieuille, to 
leave the realm within ten days, for disobeying to make their personal 
appearance before him. 

The barons then, on the Wednesday next after the invention of the 
cross, 1319, with 800 men of arms, 500 hoblers, and 10,000 men on 
foot, with the king's banner spread, mai'ched to Newport, in Wen-^ 



* Koch. South. Hon Chron. ii. 325, b. 12. 
t Holl. Chron. ii, 325. 



i 



HrSTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 113 

toksland, and tooke the castle of the lord chambeiiaine, Hugh Spencer, 
the younger.* They invaded his lands, slew his knights and soldiers, 
burned his houses and pillaged his estates, received debts to the 
value of 3,000/, and rents amounting to about 1,000/. and burnt 
twenty-three of his manors, taking away all his writings and evidences. 
After remaining there fifteen days, they then plundered his castles and 
possessions in England, and destroyed the greatest part of his estates, 
and the damage done was estimated at 10,000/. 

The king when he heard of these outrages, sent to them the arch- 
bishop <?f Canterbury, and the lord de Badlesmere, steward of his house, 
to request they would desist from such pillage, and come to the par- 
liament then assembled, where they might state their complaints and 
grievances, and he would promise them justice, according as equity 
should require. The barons, however, rejected the king's proposition, 
and returned answer by the archbishop, * that they should not lay 
aside until the king had banished the Spencers, whom they nov/ held 
to be the great seducers of the king, and oppressor* of the state ; dis- 
posing of all things in court at their pleasure, and suiFering nothing to 
be obtained but by their means ;' and on this the lord Badlesmere 
forsook the king and joined the confederate barons. On St. Barnabas' 
day they came to the manor of Hugh Spencer, the father, called Fas- 
terne, in the county of Gloucestershire, and spoiled the same, with all 
his lands and possessions in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, Hampshire, Berk- 
shire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Surry, Cambridgshire, Hunting- 
donshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Cheshire, and Warwickshire 5 
pillaging and plundering every thing before them, so that Hugh Spen- 
der, the father, was thought to have suffered the loss of property to 
•the amount of 30,000/. They took out of Stanley Abbey, 1000/. in 
ready coin, and endamaged him to the value of 6,000/. and out of his 
castle at Marlborough, they took thirty-six sacks of wool, and all his 
plate and apparel, amounting to the sum of 6,000/. They then spoiled 
the possessions of all the friends of the Spencers, and constrained all 
whom they met to swear to be of their accord and to join their force ; 
and flushed with hopes of certain conquest, they appeared before the 
parliament, then sitting at London, three weeks after Midsummer. 
* Their retinue were apparelled in a sute of jackets or coates of colours 
/iemie partie, yellow and greene, with a bapd of white cast overthwart, 
by reason whereof, that parlement long after was called the parle- 
ment of white bands.' Having procured, by menaces, tke perpetual ba- 
nishment of the Spencers ; in the plenitude of feudal power and 
greatness they again retired to their respective mansions for awhile. 
Two months had, however^ scarcely elapsed, when a circumstanco 



114 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

occurred, which in the end proved fatal to the cause of the insurgents. 
The queen, on her retuin from Canterhury, whither she had been to 
pay her devotion at the shrine of Thomas a Becket, wished much to 
spend the night, (Oct. 13th, 1319,) at the royal castle of Leeds, in Kent, 
belonging to Bartholomew Badlesmere, late steward of the king's 
house, who had obtained it of the king, in exchange for other lands. She 
sent her marshall to demand lodging for the night, and Badlesmere 
then taking part with the barons, was absent from his castle ; but his 
lady told him he must go and provide lodging for his mistress in some 
other place, for * that they would neither permit queene nor other to 
enter therein, without expresse commandment from her lord and mas- 
ter.' The queen not believing that such an answer could possibly be 
retm'ned, repaii'ed to the gate of the castle, when she was nidely re- 
pulsed, and an altercation ensued, in which several of the royal attend- 
ants were slain. In order to vindicate the queen's honour, many 
barons espoused the royal cause, and contributed much to the destruc- 
tion of the insurgent barons. 

The king then wrote to the earl of Lancaster, in answer to his 
letters which he had received when in Loudon, respecting the Spen- 
cers, * modestlie reproving him, for that he had so greuouslie and 
undutifuUie reproched him, without respect had to his roiall estate, 
and also presumed to assigne him a dale within the which he should 
reforme to those things, which he misliked in him, as if he were his 
subiect and underling, and beside this was now ioined with his aduer- 
saiies against him, where on his behalfe there had beene no let nor 
stale at any time, but that they might be freends and remaine in quiet 
togither. Wherein though he did more than stood with the dignities 
of his roiall title, insomuch as he had the earles life at his command- 
ment, yet for that he tolerated such insolence of behaiuour as was 
imseemlie to be shewed against the person of his prince, the king's 
clemencie and patience is highlie therein to be commended ; though 
his forbearing and seeking meanes of quietnesse did neuer a whit 
amend the malignant mind of the earle, whose hart was so inchanted 
with ambition and super-eminent honour, that he quite forgat this 
good lesson of submission and did allegiance, 

Vt oequeas Isedi majori semper obedi.* 

Exasperated at the insult oflFered to his queen, Edwai'd raised a 
mighty ai'my out of Kent and Essex, from the Cinque Ports, and of 
Londoners, and having with him his brethren, Thomas earl marshal, 
and Edmund earl of Kent, with the earls of Richmond, Pembroke, 
Ainindel, and Athol, raised the siege of the castle of Leeds. He then 
recalled the Spencers, seized on the domains of the insurgents which 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 115 

lay most exposed to his attack, and resolved by force of arms to reduce 
the barons to obedience, or die in the quarrel. 

Meanwhile, Lancaster refused to support the lords of the marches, 
considering that such an insult offered to the queen ought to be reveng- 
ed ; but, on being apprized of the return of the Spencers, and of their 
restoration to royal favour, he was greatly exasperated, and summoned 
a council of the barons, to meet him at Doncaster, on the 29th of Nov, 
1321 ; and circular letters were spread over the kingdom, setting forth 
what dangers the nation would be exposed to, should the Spencers be 
recalled from exile. 

The Scots, now that the truce was ended, invaded Northumber- 
land, and Lancaster openly avowed an alliance with the king of Scot- 
land ; that he had sent Richard de Topcliflfe from the council of Don- 
caster, to confer with Douglas, in Jedburgh castle,, and that on the 
16th of January, the king of Scots, earls Randolph and Douglas, had 
agreed to aid him, and live' and die with him in the quarrel. Rapin 
says the Scots had promised him succours, but Leland asserts that he 
refused to have any connexion with Scotland. 

The barons then besieged Tickhill castle for fifteen days, when 
Edward at the head of his army advanced to its relief. On approach- 
ing his enemies he caused a proclamation to be made, * that he was 
readie to receiue all men to his peace, that would come and submit 
themselves, those excepted, which had beene at the siege of Tikehill 
castell, or at the taking of the citie of Gloucester, or at the inuasion 
made upon his men at Bridgenorth.'* Having then reached the vil- 
lage of Caldwell, he dispatched certain forces to Burton upon Trent^ 
where he intended to have lodged, but the earls of Lancaster and 
Hereford, the lords Roger Damorie, Hugh Audeley, the younger, 
John de Mowbray, Bartholomew de Badlesmere, Roger de Clifford, 
John Gifford de Bremesfield, Henry Tieis, with many others, having 
gained possession of the bridge, assailed the king's forces j and the 
waters of Trent, being swollen by excessive rains, impeded their 
progress, and thus they were constrained to remain for three days ; 
dm-ing which time, they fortified the bi-idge with barriers and other 
defences of war. Edward then ordered the earl of Surry, with hi» 
ti'oops, to pass over a bridge three miles distant from Burton j (Wich- 
nore, as says Hollingshed,> the earls of Richmond and Pembroke, with 
300 horsemen, in complete armour, to cross a ford they had discovered ; 
whilst he, with his brother the earl of Kent, should follow with the 
residue of the army, except the archers and bowmen, who, under the 
spmmand of Robert Aquarie or Waters, were ordered to attack tli© 

T HolU€ltjoii,ii. 3m 



110 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

party which kept the bridge immediately, in order to divert their whole 
attention, whilst the royal forces had passed the stream. 

Lancaster and Hereford, when they perceived that the squadrons 
of Edward had passed the water, marshalled their forces in the plains, 
in battle array, thinking to hazard a conflict ; but when they beheld 
the puissant force of Edward, which consisted of 30,000 men, advanc- 
ing to the charge, they set fire to the town, (10th March, 1322,; and 
retreated in disorder. The king's troops speedily quenched the fire, 
and fell to the spoils the enemy in their confusion had left ; ' yet the 
kinge kept nothinge to hiraselfe, but onelie a faire cuppe that be- 
longed to the earle of Lancaster, a peece esteemed to be of soome 
great value.' On the same night, being Wednesday, fMarch 12, 1322,3 
the king came to Tutbury, from which place he issued royal writs for 
the apprehension of Lancaster and his adherents, as traitors to him 
and his realm. At this time the lord Roger Damorie lay sick at 
Tulbury, who, when he had learnt of the judgment pronounced by his 
sovereign against him and the other barons, grieved so much, that his 
malady increased, and he died two days afterwards. 

The earls of Lancaster and Hereford, thus being discomfited at 
Burton, fled towards Pomft-et, and being closely pursued by the royal 
forces, lost niany men and horses ; whilst some of the lords came and 
submitted themselves to the king, amongst whom were Sir Gilbert de 
EUesfield, and Sir Robert Holland,* knights. The earl had sent the 
latter gentleman to raise his tenants in Lancashire, and to bring thera 
to his aid ; but he deceived him, knowing that the king had suspicion 
of him, he having previously promised to join the royal standard.-t* 

The barons then assembled in council in the house of the friars 
preachers, in Pontefract, and considering how Sir Robert Holland had 
deceived them, and thus weakened their party, concluded after much 
deliberation, that they should fly to Lancaster's fortress at Dun- 
stanburgh, until the king's pardon was obtained ; * sith theire enter- 
prise thus quailed on theire hands.' J This counsel Lancaster refused, 
* when Sir Roger Clyfford toke out hys dagger and sajd that he wold 
kylle hym wyth hys own hand yn that place except he woold goe 
with them.' II Thomas then consented, and having written to the 
king of Scots for assistance,§ in the name of himself and the rest of 
the barons, they then retreated towards Boroughbridge with 700 war- 
riors, in hopes of meeting their promised succours. 

The king, learning that the barons had marched northwards, de- 

* This Sir Robert Holland was slain by one Sir Thomas Wither, about the year 
1329, and the queenwas resolved upon punishing Sir Thomas forthe murder, but he was 
kept out of her way by Henry of Lancaster, until her wrath was over.— HoUi Chjon. 

t Knighton, 2.^4. Holl. Chron. ii. 331, t lUem. ii 830, 

! Lei. Col. i. m?. i Rym. iii. 927. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 117 

taclied the earls of Surry and Kent in pursuit of them, and he approach- 
ed to the castle of Pontefract, which on the first summons was sur- 
rendered to him by the constable, who had lately been appointed to the 
custody of it by the earl. 

When the barons reached Boroughbridge, they found that Sir 
Andrew de Herckley, governor of Carlisle, and Simon de Warde, 
governor of York,* having the forces of the counties of Cumberland 
and Westmorland under their command, had forelaid the passage 
there. The earl of Hereford attempted to force his way over the 
bridge, but was slain by a Welchmen stationed below, who through 
a crevice thrust his lance into his bowels. Meanwhile Lancaster 
led his men to a ford, which he obstinately tried to pass, but was 
repelled by the royal archers. He then offered a bribe to Herckley, 
who refused it, but granted, at his solicitation, a truce until the morn- 
ing. 

A ray of hope still faintly beamed in his breast, and he trusted that 
ere the morrow's dawn, the Scottish allies would arrive ; but alas ! 
when the moining came, (March 16) his fate seemed too plainly visible. 
Herckley having been reinforced in the night, by the posse comitatus, 
under the sheriff of York, summoned him to surrender, when he took 
refuge in the chapel, and casting his eyes on the crucifix, exclaimed, 
* good Lord ! I render myself to thee, and put me in thy mercy.' 
Herckley then seized him and having stripped him of his armour, 
clothed him in one of the livery suits of his servants, and carried hina 
by water to York, where they threw dirt at him. 

In this battle, fought on the 16th of March, 1322, the earls of Here- 
ford, the lord William de Sully, and Sir Roger de Boroughfield with 
divers others were slain, and Thomas earl of Lancaster with ninety 
other nobles and esquires were taken prisoners. Among the captive 
nobles were the lord Roger Clifford, (son to the lord Clifford who fell 
at the battle of Bannocksburn,) who was wounded with an arrow, the 
lords Gilbert Talbot, John Mowbray, Hugh de Willington, Thomas 
Manduit, Warren de Lisle, Philip Darcie, Thomas Wither, Henry de 
Willington, Hugh de Knovill, Philip de Becke, Henry de Leyburne, 
Henry de Bradborne, John de Beckes, Thomas Lovell, William Fitz 
William, Robert de Waterville, John de Strickland, Odnell Heron, 
Walter Paveley of Stretton, Josceline de D^Einville.f 

Few forms in these times of civil commotion were observed, and 
a subject taken in open rebellion, could expect but little mercy. The 
numerous treasons of the earl had rendered him odious to his sovereign, 

* Rich. South.—Thomas Wals,— HoU, Chron, ji. 330. 
t HoU.Chron,ii.330. '^ 



118 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

and the adherents to the crown ; and now being the captive of his ene- 
mies, he was treated with contumely and disdain. After the battle, the 
body of the earl of Hereford was conveyed to York, attended by two 
friars of the order of preachers, who were appointed to take care of it 
until the king had ordered concerning its burial. 

The king, being then at Pontefract, commanded that Lancaster 
and the other lords should be brought before him, and accordingly on 
the 21st of March, Andrew de Herckley conveyed the earl, together 
with lords Warren, Mowbray, and others, to the castle ; on approaching 
which, multitudes came out to meet them, and amongst them Lancas- 
ter's vassals, who scornfully taunted him with the name of king 
Arthur, the title which it is said he had assumed as his cypher 
in communicating with the Scots.* He was put in the tower which 
(as Leland saith,) he had newly made towards the abbey, and which, 
it is very probable, was Swillington tower, as it seems to have been a 
place of rigorous confinementf. 

On the 22d, being Monday, the earl was brought in the hall of the 
castle, before the king and a small number of peers, viz. Edmund eai'I 
of Kent, John earl of Richmond, Aymer earl of Pembroke, John earl 
of Surry, Edmund earl of Arundale, Daria earl of Athol, Robert earl 
of Angos, the lord Hugh Spencer the father, the lord Robert de 
Malmesthorpe justice, and others ; and was arraigned of high treason, 
for raising war against his sovereign, destroying his subjects, and 
plundering their estates.^ 

By a salutary severity to defend the throne from rebellion and 
contempt, 11 he was adjudged to die, and sentence was then passed 
upon him by the justiciar and Sir Andi'ew Herckley, as against an 
ai'ch traitor,§ that he should be drawn, hanged, and beheaded. On 



* Speed, 659, 42. Rapin, L 396. Rym. iii. 926. Lei. Coll. i. 465. 

t Part of this tower has been lately cut away to accommodate the pubhc road. 
It was of a square form, having walls ten feet and a half in thickness, and seems to 
6ave had no entrance except by a trap door in the floor of the turret ; so that a prisoner 
let down into this room, which was twenty-five feet square, could have no possible 

"^Lancaster was probably conveyed to Pontefract, because at the return of Edward from 
the siege of Bemick, the earl and his men jeered him as he passed by. Acclamavenint 
in ipsum regem vilissime et contemptibihter.— Rym. lu. 927, 9^1» 9*54, 9^57, 9^, y-W. 

Walsingham relateth the captivity of Lancaster thus :— • Thomas vero de Lan- 
castria non valens sustinere pondus praelii in eum versi, nee de loco fugere, captus est 
ab Andrea de Herkle custode Carleoli milite mediocris fortune, capti sunt etiam ab 
eodum dominus Rogerus de Clifforde, dominus Johannis de Mountbraye, dominus 
Warrenus de Insula, cum multis aliis, et adducti ad regis presentem ad Pontemfract- 
«m, ubi rex cum duobus Dispensatoribus, Hugone seniore et Hugone juniore morabatur. 
Et cum Thomas comes introductus fuisset In villam, a toto gente derisus est, et accla- 
Hiatus rex Arthurus, et \mdique subsannatus. Quod tantummodo juste dicebatup 
accedisse sibi, eo quod ipse regem pari forma dehonistaverat, cum res parum aatfi_a 
partibus borealibus divertisset et venisset ad Pontemffactumr 

t Rym. Faed. iii. 940. 

II Gough's Camb. Brit. iii. 238. 

5 Thomas de la More. HolU Chron, i ^l 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 119 

hearing which, he said, * shall I die without answer j* when he was 
told that as there were undoubted proofs of his guilt, it was useless for 
him to speak in his defence.* 

* Neuerthelesse for reuerence of his bloud, (beinge the king's 
neere kinsman,) drawing and hanging were remitted vnto him, but his 
hedde was stricken off the same day withowt the town of Pontfract.'f 
He was carried on a lean grey horse, without saddle or bridle, attired 
by a certain Gascoigne, with an old hat or hood on his head, and at- 
tended by a friar preacher by his side to the fatal hill, which lay a few 

* Thomas Walsing.— Speede's Britain, 659, 40. 

The following account of this matter, extracted from an epitome of a French 
chronicle, written by William de Pakington, is contained in Lei. Col. ii, 462, et seq. 
About this tyme Henry Lacy Erie of Lincoln dyed, and charged Thomas of Lancastre 
his sunne yn law and heyre, that he should maynteine his quarelle agaynst Peter Gave- 
«ton. Be whos meanes after, and the Counte of Warwickes, was Pers Geveston behedid 
at Gaverishith by Warwick the xxix of Juin yn the yere of our Lord 1312. King Ed- 
uarde lamenting and desiring God that he might ons be revengid of Peter Gavestons 
dethe. 

The nobles of England seing the infinite covetousness of the Dispenser, came to 
Thomas of Lancastre to treate a meane for it. And after one assent made assemble at 
Shirburne yn Elmede. And sending the Kings supplication, and not hard, the Barons 
went into the Marches of Wales, and destroyid the Dispensars landes. Then king Ed- 
ward, at the motion of the Dispensars, banishid John Mountbray, Roger Cliiford, Gose- 
line Dainville, and dyvers others. And after the Barons calid by brief to a parlament 
cam with 3 battayles in order, having ten colourid bandes on theyr sieves, whereof it 
was cauUid the parlement de la Bende. and yn this company were Humfre de Boun 
Counte of Hereforde, Syr Hugh de Audeley, Sir Roger Damare, &c. &c. 

The Barons hering (the King had taken the Castle of Leeds) both the Mortymers 
toke Bridge-north, for which the King banishid, by proclamation, Thomas of Lancas- 
tre and Humfrede de Boun with al theyr adherents. 

And after the King cumming agayn his Barons with a strong hoste, booth Mor- 
tymer the uncle, and Mortymer the nephew, put them self yn the Kinges grace, and 
were sent to the Toure of London. 

The Barons hering this cam to Pontefract, to Thomas of Lancastre, and there 
gathering theire poure, assaxited the Kinges castel of Tickhille, but not Wynning yt. 

And hering of the Kinges hoste, went to Burton apon Trente, keping the Bridge to 
let the Kinges passage. But the Kinge passed per force, and thens wente the Barons 
with Thomas Lancastre to Tuttebvri, and thens to Pontfract. And yn this yorney Syr 
Roger Dainmore dyed yn the abbey of Tuttebyry. In this yorney had Thomas of Lan- 
castre a Traytor with hym called Syr Robert de Hollande, whome he had taken out of 
his Botery, and preferrid to the yerely ly ving of 2 M. markes, whom he had sent yn to 
Lancastreshire to bring him V. C. men, the which he brought not to hym but to the 
Kynge. 

After this Thomas Lancastre and the Barons counselid together in Blake Freres 
in Pontfracte, and the Barons concluded to go to Dunstanburg, a castel of Thomas Lan- 
-casters in Northumbreland : but he utterly refusid that counsel, lest it might have be 
thought, that he had, or wolde have intelligence with the Scottes. Wherefore he en- 
tendid to remayne at his castel at Pontfract. 

Syr Roger ClyfFord hering this, toke oute his dagger, and sayde, that he wolde 
kille him with his oime handes in that place, except that he woold go with them. 

Then Thomas Lancastre a force graunted, and went with them, having yn com- 
pany VII. C. menne to Borowbridge. 

To Borowbridge came Syr Andrew de Harkeley Warden of Cairluel -and that 
Marches, and Syr Simon Wardc, to encountre with the Barons. 

Where Thomas Lancastre tolde Harkeley his juste quarel agayne the Dispensers, 

Promising hym, if he would favor his cause, one of the V. Countes that then he 
had in possession. But Herkely refusid his offre. 

Then Thomas prophetied that he wold sore repent, and that shortely, so fair, and 
that he should dy a shameful deth, that is to say, to be hangid drawen and quartered. 

Then Harkeley, whom Thomas of Lancastre had aforetyme made Knight, made 
his archiers to shote, and so did the Barons upon the bridge. And emong al other, one 
gotte unde the bridge, and at a hole thruste with a launce the renounid Knight thor- 
ough oute al Christentye Humfrede de Boun yn the foundemente, so that his bowels 
cam oute. 

And Syr Roger Cliffovde was sore wonded on the hedde. 

And Syr William SuUey and Sy;r Roger Bernefeld were slayne. And then went 
Thomas Lancastre into a chapel, denying to render hymself to Harkeley, and said look- 
ing on the crucifix, * Good Lord, I rendre myself to the, and, put me yn to thy mercy.' 

Then they toke of his cote armvires, and put on hym a ray cote, or goune, one of 
his menncs lyveryes, and carried hym by water to York, wUere they threw balleg of dirt 



120 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

hundred yards northwards, and in sight of his own castle.* At the 
scaffold he was pelted with mud, and assailed with the title of king 
Arthur, whilst he exclaimed * King of heaven ! grant me mercy, for the 
king of earth ha.th. forsaken me.' When he knelt down before the block 
he turned his face to the east, and one Hugh de Mustin ordered him to 
turn it towards the north, that he might look towards his friends,t 
and the executioner, a native of London, severed his head from his 
body. The prior and Monks of Pontefract then begged his body of 
the king, and buried it on the right hand of the high altar in the 
chui'ch of the priory. 

Thus fell Thomas, the mighty earl of Lancaster, the greatest peer 
of the realm, and one of the most powerfid nobles in Chiistendom. J 



sights of horror, sounds of woe. 



Mark the dire progress of the victor foe ! 
The hardened soldier looks relentless on, 
And shouts triumphant o'er the expiring groan.'— 

On the day of Lancaster's execution, ' that he mighte not seeme 
to die without a bloudy complement suitable to his condition ; there 
were hangid and quarterid at Pontefract, the lords William Touchet, 
William FitzwiUiam, Warren de Lisle, Henry Bradborne, and William 

athym. and the residew of the Barons part were pursuid from place to place, and to 
the church hold was no reverence gjven, and the father pursuid the sunne and the 
sunne the father. 

At this Battayle were taken on the barons parte, Syr Roger Clifford, Syr John 
Mountbray, Syr William Tuchet, Syr William de Fiz William and divers other Barons, 

And Syr Hugh Daudeley (or Audoley) was taken the day after, and sent to the 
kin^, and after was put yn Prison, and should have be put to deth, but that he had mar- 
ryed Gilbert of Clares daughter the kinges neice. 

Syr Barptolemew Badlesmere v,as taken at Stow Parke yn the manoyr of the 
Bishop of Lincoln that was his Nephew. 

The King hering of this discumfiture, cam with the Dispensars and other Nobles 
his adherentes to Pontfracte. 

Syr Andrew of Herkeley, brought Tliomas of Lancastre to Pontfracte to the Kinge, 
and there was put in a towre that he had newly made toward the abbaj'-, and after juged 
in the haule sodenly by thes Justices, 

Syr Hugh Dispensar the father, Syr Aimer Counte of Penbroke, Syr Edmunde 
Counte of Kent, Syr John de Britayne, and Syr Robert Malmethorp, that pronouncid 
hisjugement. 

Then Thomas Lancastre sayd, " Shaul I dy with owt Answer ?" 

Then certayne Gascoyne toke hym away, and put a pillid broken hatte or hoode, 
on his hedde, and set hym on a lene white jade with owt bridil, and he than cried thus, 
*• King of heven, have mercy on me, For the King of Herth nous ad querpi." And 
thus he was caryed, sum throwing pelottes of dyrt at hym, and having a freer Precher 
for his Confessor with hym, on to the hille with owt the toun, where he knelid doune to- 
ward the este, on tylle one Hughin de Muston caussid hym to turne his face towarde 
Scotlande : wher kneling, a villayne of London cut of his hedde, 11 Cal. Aprilis anno D. 
1321. And after the Prior and the Monkes required his body, and got it of the King, 
and buried it on the right liand of the hy altare. 

The same day were hangid, drawen, and quarterid thes Noble Men at Pontfract : 
Syr Wylliam Tuchet, Syr William Fiz William, Syr Warj'ne Lisle, Syr Henry Brade- 
bume, Sv'r William Cheny, Barons, and John Page, Esquier. 

* Tamen quid idem comes de parentela fuit excellenti et nobilissima procreatus, 
rex ob reverentiam parentellae suae remisit, de sua special! gratia dicto Thomse comiti 
executionem duarum psenarum, quod idem Thomas comes non traheretur nee suspen- 
deretnr sed quod executio, fieret tantummodo super ipsium, quod decapitaretur, sicque 
decapitatus est extra villam de Pontefracto. — Thos. Walsingham. 

t Rym. iii. 939. Thos. Wals. 116. Lei. Coll. ii. 464, 465, 474. 

t The following account exliibits the ancient and grand manner of housekeeping 
of the English nobility ; being the debit side of the account of H. Leicester, coflferer of 
Tlionjas earl of Laacaster: contaim»g the amount of all (the disbursements of that 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 121 

C!heney, barons, and John Page, an esquire ; and a short time aftffi'- 
•wards were executed at York, the lords Roger Clifford, John Mow- 
bray, and Josceline D'Einville, barons ; at London, the lord Henry 
Tieis, baron ; at Windsor, the lord Francis de Aidenham, baron ; at 
Gloucester, the lord John Gifford, baron, and Sir William Elmbridge, 
knight; at Canterbury, the lords Bartholomew de Badlesmere, and 
Bartholomew de Ashburnham, barons ; at Bristow, Sir Henry de Wil- 
-lington, and Sir Henry Mountfort, knights ; at Winchelsea, Sir Thomas 
Culpepper, knight ; at Cardiff in Wales, Sir William Fleming, knight ; 
and divers in tlieir respective counties, as Sir Thomas Mandute, knight, 
and others. The lands of the insurgent chieftains were confiscated, 
and according to the will of the Spencers granted to others * Daniel 
in his collection of especial affairs of government, p. 180, states, * that 
this is the first blood of nobilitj, that ever was shed, in this manner in 

ble family to domestic ejcpences, in the year l£fl3, in tTie reign of Edward II. as appears 
from the record of Pontefract :— 

I. s. tf. 
To the amount of the charge of the pantry, buttery, and kitchen, . . 8405 

To 369 pipes of red wine, and 2 pipes of white wine, 104 17 6 

To all sorts of groceiy wares, i , . 180 17 

To 6 barrels of sturgeon. . 19 

To 6000 dried fishes cf all s«rt9, , . . 41 6 

To 16141bs. of wax, vermillion, and turpentine, 814 7 4 

To the charge of the earl's great horses, and servants' wages, . . , 436 4 3 
To linen for the earl, his chaplains, and table, ...... 43 17 

To 129 dozen skins of Parchment and ink, . 4 8 3 

To two scarlet cloths for the earl's use, 1 of russet to the bishop of Agnewj 
70 of blue for the knights ; 28 for the squires ; 15 for the clerks ; 15 for 
the officers ; 19 for the grooms ; 15 for the archers ; four for the minstrels 
an'd carpenters, with the sharing, and carriages for the earl's liveries at 

Christmas, , -460 15 

To 7 furs of powdered ermine ; 7 hoods Of purple ; 395 furs of budge for the 
liveries of barons, knights, and clerks-; and 124 furs of lamb, bought at 

Christmas for the squires, . 147 17 S 

To 168 yards of russet cloth ; and 24 coats for poor men, with money given 

to the poor on Maunday Thursday 8 16 7 

To 65 saffron coloured cloths for the barons and knights in summer ; 12 red 
cloths for the clerks ; 26 for the squires ; 1 for the officers ; and 4 ray 

cloths for carpets in the hall, 345 13 8 

To 100 pieces of green silk for the knights ; 14 budge furs for surcoats; 13 
hoods of budge for the clerks; and 75 furs of lambs, for liveries in sum- 
mer,, with canvas and cords to them, 72 19 

To saddles for the summer liveries, 61 6 8 

To several items, (the particulars of which are defaced in the original,) . 141 14 1 

To horses lost in service, ,, 868 

To fees paid to earls, barons, knights, and squires, ^ . . . . ..623 15 6 

To gifts to French knights, Countess of Warren, queen's nurses, squires, 

minstrels, messengers and riders, . . 92 14 

To 24 silver dishes, 24 saucers, 24 cups, 1 pair of pater-nosters, and 1 silver 

coffin all bought this year, when silver wag at Is. 8d. per ounce, . 103 5 6 

To several messengers, 34 19 8 

To sundry things in the earl's bedchamber, • » . . ^ . . . 5 (J 

To several debts paid this year, , 88 16 

To the countess's disbursements at Pickering, 440 5 5 

To 23191bs of tallow candles, and 18701bs of lights, called Paris candles, and 

white wax candles, 31 14 3 

^.7207 16 11 
In the above account it is to be observed, that silver was then at Is. 8d. per ounce, 
*o that 12 ounces went to a pound sterling ; by which it appears, that the sum total ex- 
pended in that year, amounts in our money, to about 22,800/. whereby is shown that 
the earl must have had a prodigious estate, especially considering the vast disparity in 
the price of provisions, &c. then and now ; therefore we may fairly conclude that such 
an establishment would not be at present maintained little short of an expend'tyre of 
200,000 per annum. 

* Stowe's Acts and Mon.463, col, 2.— Thos. Walsingham. 

R 



122 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

England since William I. which being such and so much as it was, 
opened veins for more to follow and procured a most hideous revenge 
which shortly after ensued ;' and Stowe thus wi'ites of this affair, 
* Neur did English earthe at one time drinke soe much bloud of her 
nobles in so vile a manner.' 

Dissolved are honour's, friendship's, nature's ties j 
See by the brother's sword the brother dies ! 

Fabian writes that three score and twelve knights were cast into 
sundry prisons, and upon fines being paid, had afterwards their liber- 
ty.* Adam, lord of Swillington, in the West-Riding, being a great 
friend of the earl, was confined in Swillington tower, and bought his 
ransom for 1000 marks ; this judgment was, however, deemed 
erroneous by the parliament, 1 Edward III. and he was restored again 
to favour, and obtained free warren in all his demesne lands. He had 
summons to parliament from 20 Edward II. to 2 Edward III. inclusive, 
but not after, nor any of his posterity .f ' A conspiracie was discover- 
ed in the 16th of Edward's reign, the purport of which was to release 
all who were confined in prison for taking part with the barons ; and 
the ringleaders were taken captive. Sir John de Goldington, knight, 
Sir Edmund of the Beche, chaplain, and Roger Walton, esquire, were 
sent to Pomfret, where they remained a short time in prison, and were 
afterwards beheaded at York.'J 

Lancaster, at the commencement of the civil discords betwixt the 
barons and the king, was possessed of the earldoms of Lancaster, 
Lincoln, Salisbury, Leicester, and Derby ; as well as the liberties of 
Pickering, the honor of Cockermore,|| and other lands and possessions 
great to his advancement to honour and puissance. It is difficult to 
delineate his true character, as by some writers he is charged with 
every crime which can taint and dishonour the form of man ; that * he 
fauored not his wife, but lined in spouse-breach, defilinge a greate 
number of damosels and gentilwomen j' that * if any offended him he 
slue him shortlie after in his wrathful moode ;' that * he manetaned 
apostates and other euill dooers, and would not suffer them to be 
punished by order of the lawe.' They also brand him with the epithet 
of a coward, stating that he fled shamefully from the battle of Bo- 
roughbridge ; and though he appeared active and courageous in be- 
coming the leader of the insurgent barons, in order to reduce the 
prerogatives of the crown ; yet he was deficient in the talents and 
personal bravery which ennoble and dignify a warrior ; and that he 
took no part in the Scottish war, in which it might be fairly imagined 

* Thomas de la More. Speede, 659, 41. 

t Baker's Chron.llO. 

i HoU. Chron.ii.332. 11 Mag. Brit. vi. 392, 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 123 

the martial ardor of the age would have invited him.* By others 
more friendly to this powerful nobleman, he is not only exculpated from 
all aspersions of his character, but adorned with every quality which 
can add grace and dignity to the human form. He was esteemed as 
the decided friend and strenuous advocate of liberty, and as an heroic 
chieftain in a true and honourable quarrel, which he maintained to his 
death. That during his life-time he was a patron to religion and per- 
formed many alms-deeds. This diversity of opinion in the public mind 
caused great strife and contention ; and rumours were blazoned 
abroad, that miracles were wrought on the hill where he suffered, and 
and at his tomb in the priory, from whence blood flowed continually .f 
His fame was noised abroad to be so great, that numbers flocked in 
pilgrimage to his tomb, until by the king's commandment, the doors of 
the priory were closed, and none permitted to bring ofl'erings or perform 
any devotion there ; yet many obtained entrance and privately visited 
his tomb. The hill on which he suffered was guarded by certain armed 
Gascoignes, appointed by the lord Hugh Spencer the younger, then at 
Pontefi'act, ' to the ende that no people shoulde come and make pray- 
ers there in worship of the said earle, whom theye tooke verilie 
for a martyr.' t But the enthusiam of these times was so great, and 
the people so prepossessed in his favour that being thus impeded 
by royal mandate, from paying homage to the earl, they journied to 
London, and resorted to his picture then hanging in St. Paul's cathe- 
dral, wherewith the king was greatly displeased and commanded the 
bishop of London to suffer none to enter therein. 

Lancaster's estates were confiscated to the crown, and report 
afiirmeth that a great part of the splendid wardrobe of Gaveston was 
found in his possession. Thus it is evident that amongst even the 
highest nobility, the predatory attacks of the feudal chieftains were 
not only influenced by the detestable passions of revenge, but the 
odious practice of rapine and plunder ; whilst tyranny and rebellion 
alternately despoiled the land, and overwhelmed the subjects with 
continual oppression. 

Notwithstanding the high offices which he held, and the mighty 
power he was possessed of, yet ' all this was limited within prescrip- 
tion of time, which being expired, both honour and puissance were 
cut off with dishonour and death, for (O mutable state !> 

Invida fatorum series, summisque negatum 
Stare diu.'— 

* Nic Triuett. 

t Gough's Cam. Brit. iii. 287.— Thomas Walsingharo, 94.— Lei. Col. i, m, et seq, 
Dugdale, i. 781. . ' ^ 

t HoU. Chron, ii. 332. 



134 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

In justification of the miracles said to be wrought on the hiil 
and at the tomb of the earl, queen Isabel wrote to the Pope, earnestly* 
desiring the canonization of this illustrious chieftain.* * An honoui' 
which indeed he deserved much more than any of his coimtr}Tnen, 
who had acquired it since the conquest; for if the love of his country 
■may be called piety, he was indeed truly and unalterably a pious 
man. Some of the expressions made use of in the queen's letter to 
the Pope, to induce him to canonize the earl, are thus rendered into 
English : — He was eminent for* his singular constancy, which he 
entertained as a prerogative, for having corporally sworn and bound 
Mmself, before God, to keep the statutes and- ordinances of the realm, 
for the benefit of the republic, and defence of the liberty of the church ; 
he inviolably kept his oath to God, and, out of his zeal for justice, 
magnanimously checked and crushed the peirfidious seducers, who rose 
up against the king and kingdom. After many and tedious conflicts 
which he went through^ in the purity of the spirit, and the hopes of a 
reward in heaven, the just man devoutly suffered sentence of death, 
passed by the unjust, and so sweetly slept in the Lord ; and now as a 
river descending from some pleasant place to water paradise, being 
divided into several branches, gives a wholesome temperature, and 
fruitful«ess by its celestial dew, to the soul of England, which is dyed 
red with the efiusion of his sacred blood ; whilst through the pious 
invocation of his name, so many miracles are wrought by inspiration ; 
and whilst the infinite remedies of salvation are by the grace of God 
granted through his prayers and merit. 

His canonization, seems, however, not to have taken place until 
the 14 th year of the reign of Richard II, A.Pf 1389, so just the observa- 
tion is, that 

* Manners with fortune, humours change with climes. 
Tenets with books, and principles with times.' — Pope. 

The remains of the noble earl, are, from circumstances connected 
with his death and burial, fairly presumed to have been discovered by 
two labourers, on Monday the 25 th of March, in the year 1822, in a 
field called the Paper Mill Field, lying near St. Thomas' hill, in Ponte- 
fract. Should they be the identical relics of this once mighty prince, 
it is rather singular that five hundred years within three days sho\ild 
elapse from the time of his death to the discovery ; as he suflfered de- 
capitation on Monday the 22nd of March, 1322, and his remains were 
discovered on Monday the 25th of March, 1822. 

The labourers were employed by Mr. Joseph Brooke, occupier of 
the land, to trench for liquorice, and one of them strildng against a 

* Brady, J38, 139, app, No. 64. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 125 

hard substance, curiosity prompted them to remove the earth, in 
order to discover what it might be, as it was on the side of a hill, and had 
only about a foot of earth on its surface. On the removal of the earth, 
it proved to be a massive antique cofl&n, hewn out of one entire piece of 
undressed stone. Its measurement within, was in length six feet five 
inches, and in width nineteen inches, with sides of about six inches 
thick, audit would in all probability weigh about a ton and a half. The 
lid was formed as the ridge of a house, and projected over the sides of 
the coffin about two inches, having its underside hollowed out. It was 
by accident broken in two, and being raised up presented a complete 
skeleton of large dimensions, in a high state of preservation. A rough 
stone was laid in the place of the head, which rested betv/een the thigh 
bones, and consequently the occupant of this narrow mansion, who 
had probably in his day filled a considerable place in society, had evi- 
dently suffered decapitation. Pieces of chalky substances were strewed 
about the bones, which, on the first opening of the coffin were entire and 
in their respective places, but on being exposed to the air, fell in a con- 
fused heap. The teeth were entirely perfect, and the bones those of a 
strong athletic man. As no doubt existed at the time of their discovery, 
that they were the remains of the unfortunate Lancaster, they were, 
together with the coffin, removed by order of Mrs. Milnes, of Frystone 
Hall, (the owner of the field wherein it was found,> into her grounds^ 
where they now remain. 



126 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



SECTION III. 

1 HE insurgent barons being tlius devoted to the vengeance of 
royalty, Edward liberally bestowed tlieir confiscated possessions on his 
retinue. Pembroke was gratified with the grant of the new temple 
which had belonged to Lancaster ; the lands of Clifford, Mowbray, 
and Damorie, were divided between the earl of Richmond and the 
bishop of Durham ; and, the losses sustained by the eldest de Spencer 
from the depredations of the barons, were compensated by numerous 
rich manors, whilst the son not only engrossed a great portion of the 
confiscated property, but extorted money from the ransomed nobles by 
way of composition. 

On the very day of Lancaster's death, he conferred the earldom of 
Carlisle on Sir Andrew de Herckley, at Pontefract castle, for his servi- 
ces in captivating the earl ; and granted to him and his male heirs 
an annuity of twenty pounds per annum, to be paid by the sheriff of 
Cumberland, for the time being, as also lands and rents in Cumber- 
land and Westmoreland to the value of 1000 marks per annum, and 
500 marks annually out of the marches in Wales. This is the first 
creation of honour wherein the preamble importing the merits of the 
person so dignified was ever used, and beareth date at the castle of 
Pontefract, March 25, 1322. 

Edward deviated from the will of Henry de Lascy, and instead of 
granting the castle and honour of Pontefract upon Henry the brother 
of the late earl of Lancaster, as was stated therein, retained them for a 
short time in his own hands, and then granted them to his favourites, 
whose haughty demeanour coupled with his own cruelties, so incensed 
the nobles who had assisted him against Lancaster, that a civil com- 
motion prevailed. He had thought that the death of the earl would have 
quelled at once all party rage and rebellion, but he found this was an 
erroneous idea. He was fearful that the enthusiasm of the people who 
revered tlie memory of the late earl, would be the cause of an insurrec- 
tion ; and, he therefore came to Pontefract, forbidding all pilgrimages 
to be made to the hUl on which he suffered, or to the priory where he 
was.buried. From hence he journied to Craven,* in order to check the 

* It appears from ' the Fruyt of Tyme,' printed by Wynkyn de Warde, 1628, that 
the king was at * Craven at Scipton, because he should undo the pilgrimages made at 
the tomb of Lancaster,' which threatened to end in an insvirrection* 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 127 

march of the Scots, who had desolated all the northern parts. He 
engaged his enemies near Byeland Abbey, but being routed, he escap- 
ed with difficulty to York, leaving his furniture, plate, and money to 
the victors, who ravaged all the country even to the walls of the city. 
A treaty of peace was concluded with the marauding Scots by Sir An- 
drew de Herckley, without the king's knowledge, and he was cited to 
answer for his conduct at court ; but disobeying the royal mandate, he 
was degraded from his dignity and knighthood, and being convicted of 
high treason, was executed at Carlisle. 

Bruce then made overtures of peace to Edward, and conferences 
were held at Newcastle ; but as Bruce seemed to insist upon being 
acknowledged king Of Scotland, a treaty was almost impracticable. 
Articles of agreement were however drawn, by which it was stipulated 
that a free commerce should be carried on between the two nations, 
but no other correspondence allowed without a special licence for 
thirteen years. This was concluded at Thorpe, in Yorkshire, by the 
earl of Pembroke and Hugh de Spencer the younger, and confirmed 
by the assent of the king's council. The English nation, hoM^ever, was 
not yet free from trouble and disquiet, the civil commotions still raged, 
and the subjects in general were exasperated against the Spencers 
who ROW engrossed the whole regal authority, for though Lancaster 
was dead, his party still survived. 

Edward, it appears, began to repent of the death of Lancaster, for 
on being entreated by the nobles to spare the life of a servant who had 
served in court and was much in favour, in a great wrath he exclaimed, 
* A plague vpon you, for cursed whisperers, (verba imperii, as Wal- 
singham writes,) malicious backebiters ! wicked counsellours ! entreat 
you so for the life of a most notorious knave, who would not speake 
one word for the life of my neere kinsman, that most noble knight, 
earl Thomas ? Had hee lived, wee and oure whole realme should have 
had speciall need and use of him. This fellow the longer hee lives, the 
more vilanies wil he commit, as hauinge alreadie filled my kingdome 
with his desperate outrages. By the soule of God he shal therfore die 
the deathe he hath desenied.'* 

Edward had scarcely quelled the disturbances in his ovm domini- 
ons, when he was embroiled in a quarrel with the king of France. 
The variance betwixt the two kingdoms seemed to arise from the re- 
sentment which Charles conceived against the favourites of the Eng- 
lish monarch, for their arrogance and haughtiness towards his sister 
Isabel, then queen of England. At her brother's request she embarked 
for her native country, on reaching which she resolved never to return 

* Specde, 660, 46. 



1^ 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



to the English couit, until the Spencers were discarded. Incensed af the 
insults of the favourites, who had alienated the king's affections from 
her, and taken every opportunity of thwarting her ^dews; she joined 
the Lancastrian faction, and ultimately struck the death blow of all 
the hopes of Edward and his counsellors. She landed at Oi'well, in 
Suffolk, about the latter end of September, 1325, and was immediately 
joined by all the most powerful barons ; amongst whom were Thomas 
de Brotherton, earl marshal ; the earl of Norfolk, John Bretagne, the 
earl of Richmond, the earl of Leicester, brother of the late earl of 
Lancaster, the bishops of Lincoln, Hereford, Dublin, and Ely ; and all 
the great barons except Surrey and Arundel, deserted the royal stand- 
ard, and the monarch of England beheld with amazement the puissance 
of Isabel's troops, whilst he was stript of all obeisance and roj-^alty. 

The Spencers were easily captivated, and being brought to trial, 
were charged with introd\icing a custom of condemning people with- 
out ti'ial, — mdening the breach between the king and his barons, — and 
advising his majesty to put the late earl of Lancaster to death, without 
cause assigned or form of process ; and being considered as invaders of 
the rights of the people, they were adjudged to die. Then* sentence 
was carried into effect with the greatest barbarity on a Monday, in 
revenge of the death of Lancaster, whose royal blood was spilt on that 
day by the executioner's axe. The body of the younger Spencer was 
cut into pieces and given to the dogs, and his head was exposed to 
public gaze at Winchester. The blood of the earls of Siurey and 
Arundel, (Lancaster's bitterest enemies,) with many others was des- 
tined also to stain the fatal bl^ck, and Edward suffered captivity in the 
castle of Kenilworth until the beginning of the following year, (1327 ;> 
when he was deposed by parliament, convoked in his name, and his 
son assumed the regal power. After his deposition, he was removed 
to Berkley castle, and lodged in a cold damp tower, subjected to the 
provoking insults of hired miscreants. The bishop of Hereford, how- 
ever, finding that this did not shorten the life of the unhappy prince, 
resolved on his death ; and for this purpose, he entered his chamber on 
the night of the 21st of September, 1327, with two ruffians, who at his 
command, pinioned him do\vn, and thrust a red hot iron up his body, 
by such a conveyance, as prevented every external mark of violence ; 
and thus perished this unfortunate monarch, after having atoned by 
his suffering for the eiTors of his past conduct. 

• Mark the year and mark the night. 

When Severn shall re-echo with affright ; 

The shrieks of death, through Berkley's roof that ring. 

Shrieks of an agonizing king.'— Gray. 



HISTORY OF PONlTSFRACT. 129 

The earl of Leicester, Who had now assumed the titl^ of Lancas- 
ter, obtained an act for reversing the attainder of the late eai'l, his 
l)rotlier, and thereupon he repossessed all lands and lordships his an- 
cestors had enjoyed. He was created high steward of England, was 
entrusted with the guardianship of the young king, and was appointed 
joint commander with the earl of Kent, of the royal armament in the 
marches of Scotland. 

In the second year of his reign, Whilst at Pontefract castle, Ed- 
ward* granted powers of procuration, (dated 22nd of August, 1328,) to 
the bishops of Worcester and Lincoln, to maintain his right to the 
French throne ; and sent ambassadors to form a league with the duke 
of Brabant. 

Lancaster obtained a confirmation of £ill his possessions m tlie 
fourth year of his reign ; and dying in the nineteenth year of his reign, 
was buried at Leicester ; the funeral procession consisted of the 
king and queen, and a great number of the bishops, earls, ^nd barons. 
His son the earl of Derby, invested with the command of the royal 
forces, then at Bourdeaux, succeeded him in his vast possessions ; and 
was created, by letters patent, (1349,) earl of Lincoln, and elected into 
the noble order of the knights of the garter, newly formed. He was 
afterwards, in the twenty-fifth of Edward HI. by the king's special 
charter, dated 6th March, 1351, created duke of Lancaster,t for his 
prudent and valorous conduct in the late Wars ; and by this charter the 
«arldom of Lancaster became a duchy. He fell a victim to the plague, 
which raged greatly in the 35th year x" Edward on the eve of the 
annunciation of our lady. Having no nTOle issue, his possessions were 
apportioned to his two daughters Maude and Blanche, his coheiresses, 
and they being cousins within the degrees of consanguinity to John of 
Gaunt, :J: earl of Richmond, Blanche was forbidden by the laws of the 

* Edward created his eldest son, Edward, surnamed the Black Priitce, earl of 
Chester, by his royal charter bearing date at Pomfret, the 18th day of March, in the 7th 
jrear of his reign, and the same was inrolled of record in the exchequer, anno 38 Ed- 
ward III. — Vide Doddridge's English Lawyer. — Forsyth's Antiquary's Portfolio, ii, 183. 
In this year the king whilst staying at Pomfret, had" demanded subsidies from various 
parts, and obtaining an excuse from the Abbott of Vale Royal, (Cheshire,) he wrote 
him a letter on the 12th day of February, and again demanded the subsidy, telling him 
that he deemed his excuses insufficient, for not affording him the subsidy he had de- 
manded, on account of the expenses of marrying his sister Eleanor to the earl of GerL 
The abbott's answer, written in Latin, stated, that their monastery was refounded by 
the king's grandfather, on account of a certain vow he had made" on his escape from 
peril of the sea ; and that it was partially endowed, and the fabric of their church only 
begun at the condition ; nevertheless, they offer his majesty 100s. to be paid, when, by 
his gift, their establishment shall be completed. 

t This is the first duke created since the Norman conquest, except Edward the black 
prince, who was created duke of Cornwall, fourteen years before. As William enjoyed 
only the title of duke of Normandy, previous to the conquest, and his successors were 
honoured only with the same title, they appeared jealous of advancing any to this dig- 
nity, least they should aspire also to the crown. 

Hoc anno Henricus comes Derby Lancastriae apud Westmonasteriensium dux 
Lancastriffi est creatus. — Thos. Walsing. 

t John of Gaunt was the fourth son of Edward, and was born about Christmas in 
fhe thirteenth year of Edward's reign ; he received the title of Gaunt from the place of 
his nativity. 



130 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

church, to marry him ; but a dispensation being obtained from the 
pope, to remove this obstacle, they were married at Reading, on the 
19th' day of May, 1359.* John inherited the possessions of the late 
earl of Lancaster, amongst which was the castle and manor of Ponte- 
fract, with the bailimck and honor of the same place, as heir in right 
of the lady Blanche ; and Maude dying without issue, in the 36th year 
of Edward III. he becaine possessed of her estates, and now being 
richer than many kings, he was by his father, in parliament assembled 
on the 13th Nov. 1362, created duke of Lancaster,t by girding with a 
sword, the cap of fur on his head, with a circlet of gold and pearls. 
From his father he obtained certain royalties, the county of Lancaster 
being advanced to the dignity of palatinate. 

By royal charter, both he and his heirs for ever, were made free, 
and alLhis vassals, or whosoever were resiants on his lands and fees 
whatever, which were the property of Henry, formerly earl of Lancas- 
ter, progenitor of Henry, late duke of Lancaster ; and it was further 
granted that the said John and Blanch his wife, and their heirs on the 
bodies of them the said John and Blanch begotten, and all their vas- 
sals, and lands, and fees whatsoever, should be^xempted from pannage, 
passage, j)aage, lastage, stallage, tollage, carriage, pesage, piccage 
and terrage,^ throughout the whole kingdom. 

John granted to John Northop, of Manningham, for yeomans' 
boards, one penny'' for himself, and a halfpenny for his dog, &c. for 
going with the receiver or bailiff, to conduct him safe from Rotherham 
to the castle of Pontefract.X Blanche died of a raging fever, and was 
buried in St. Paul's Cathedral, at London ; and the duke married Con- 
stance, daughter and heiress of Don Pedro, king of Castile, (46 Edward 
III.) in whose right he assumed the arms and title of king of Castile. 
Constance died in the 17th year of Richard II. and John married Cathe- 
rine Swynford, daughter of Paou de Ruet of Hainault ; she was brought 
up in the house of the duke, and attended on his first wife the lady 
Blanche, In the days of his second wife Constance, she was his kept 
mistress and bore him two sons and a daughter j she was afterwards 
married to a knight of the name of Swynford, and at his decease again 
became his concubine. 

At the demise of Edward III. he, with Edmund, earl of Cambridge 
and other peers, were appointed guardians of Richard II. the yoimg 
king ; and had the administration of the affairs of the goveiTunent. 

During Wat Tyler's insurrection, the duke became very unpopu- 
lar. His palace of the Savoy, was levelled with the ground ; and his 

* H»oll, Chron.ii.359. 

t The honor of Lancaster extends over Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincoln, Not . 
jrinifham, Derby, Yorkshire, Rutland and Stafford. f Oough's Cam. Brit. 



WISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 131 

(tastle at Leicester not being deemed sufficiently secure, the lady 
Constance fled precipitately to the castle of Pontefract, but the vassal 
dreading that Wat Tyfer and his associates were in pursuit, refused 
her admittance, upon which sli€\v'as necessitated to proceed by torch- 
light to Knaresbro' were she was received with all respect and found 
a refuge during the insurrection. 

In the seventh year of the reign of Richard II. an Irish friar of th^ 
order of Carmelites, exhibited a bill before the parliament assembled 
at Salisbury, against the duke of Lancaster, charging him with the 
heinous treasons of destroying the king and usurping the crown ; and 
Lancaster on reading the bill, vehemently declared his innocence, and 
persuaded the king that the friar might be entrusted to the safe custody 
of lord John Holland, until the time should come that he might refute' 
the accusation. Having gained this point, the lord John Holland,^iftd 
Sir Henry Green, knight, secretly put the friar to death, the day pre- 
viously to the trial. In the following year, great animosities arose' 
between the earl of Northumberland and the duke of Lancaster ; 
against the latter of whom, the king was greatly incensed, intending' 
to have him arraigned of certain points of treason, before Sir Robert 
Tresillian, chief justice, and the peers of the realm. 

His wealth was viewed with a jealous eye by king Richard 5; 
who now thought that nothing but the duke's death would en-- 
sure his happiness and security. He was alarmed by the insintjations 
of the sycophants who surrounded him, concerning Lancaster's ambi- 
tious designs, and he was convinced of his being a trait ar ; and as Lan- 
caster had courage to manifest his sentiments in a princely manner, he 
broke out into sudden starts Of passion, which he had not prudence tc 
restrain. When on his march into Scotland, the duke counselled him ta 
pass the forth, when Richard answered with marks of great perturba- 
tion, * I and my army will never go farther north, you and yours may," 
to which the duke replied, ' I have no will of my own, but am are 
obedient subject.' * That you are not,' exclaimed the monarch, quit- 
ting him abruptly. The duke fearing the displeasure of the king,. 
* got him to his castell at Pomfret, which he fortified, and banded him- 
selfe so with his freends that it appeared he would defend his cause 
with force of armes, rather than come to his triall by order of law 
afore such a judge ; and by reason hereof, it was greatlie doubted^ 
least some ciuill warre would haue broken forth.f A reconciliation 
was, however, eflfected between them, by the princess Joane, mother 
to the king, who dreaded the fatal consequences of the hreach. He 
obtained charters confirming all his enjoyments, in the 12th RichauxS 

* HoU, Chron, ii, 446. 



132 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

II. and dying on 3rd of February, 1399, in the 59th year of his age, 
■yas buried at St. Paul's Cathedral, at London.* His daughter Cathe- 
rine was married to the prince of Spain, in the year 1386. His only 
son, Henry of Bolingbroke, the banished duke of Hereford, ought to 
have succeeded to his titles and possessions, by virtue of his hereditary 
right, as well as by the letters patent, obtained even after the sentence at 
Coventi-y.f But Richard, startled at this great accession of wealtlr 
and power of Bolingbroke, gained the committee of parliament to hi& 
wish,, and contrary to all dictates of equity and law, declared the let- 
ters patent null and void, on the ISth of March. He then seized on 
the estates for his own use ; and Henry Bowett, who had sued as at- 
torney in behalf of Hereford, was convicted of treason;, and sentence 
of death was passed upon him ; but on account of his being the king's 
chaplain, a pardon was granted him. 

The tyranny and injustice, however, of Richard, excited against 
him universal indignation, and compassion for the banished duke.^ 
Richard imposed new oaths upon all sheriffs, by which they were 
boOTid to act according to his arbitrary and tyrannical commands. The 
garrisons were neglected — the northern parts ravaged by the repeated 
incursions of the Scots, whom he was not courageous enough ta 
repel— the government was despised abroad and insulted at home — 
and the people looked upon the duke as the only means by which they 
eould hope for redress. Being a prince of the royal blood, the nobility 
and gentry made overtures to him and invited him to come to Eng- 
land to vindicate his rights. 

Encouraged by the English nobility and the news of Richard's ex- 
pedition into Ireland, whither he had gone in order to revenge the 
death of Roger Mortimer, earl of March, Bolingbroke sailed fi'om 
Nantes with three small vessels, accompanied by the archbishop of 
Canterbuiy, the j'^oung earl of Arundel, lord Cobham, sir Thomas Er- 
pington, sir Thomas Ramstone, and about eighty soldiers. After ho- 
vering some days on the coast, in order to discover the inclination of 
the people, he landed at Ravenspurg, in Yorkshire, and was immedi- 
ately joined by the earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, with 
the other barons of the north and their followers,! the lords WiUough- 
by, Ross, Darcy, Beaumont, and an army of 40,000 men. Having^ 
gained the king into his power, he no longer confined his pretensions 
to the estate of Lancaster, but aspired to the throne of England ; and 
a parliament was summoned to meet at Westminster, to compel Rich- 
ard to resign his crown. All the articles of impeachment were 

* Otterbourne p. 197. 

t Rymer, p. 49.— Wals. p. 357. 

t Ftotssart, torn. 4, ch. 105, 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 133 

sustained as true, and Richard was solemnly deposed ; and a commit- 
tee was appointed to notify to the unfortunate prince his degradation. 
The throne of England being thus vacated, Lancaster rose from his seat, 
and having invoked the name of Christ, and crossing his breast and 
forehead, claimed the crown of England in these words : — * In the 
name of Fadhei-, son and Holy Ghost, I Henry of Lancaster, challenge 
this rewme of Ynglonde, and the croune with all the members, and 
the apurtenances, als 1 that am descendit be right lyne of the blode 
cuming fra the gude lorde king Henry Thirde, and throghe that rygt 
that God of his grace hath sent me, with helpe of my kyn, and of my 
frendes to recover it ; the whiche rewme was yn poynt to be ondone 
for defaut of governance, und undoying of the gude lawes/* 

The county palatine, and all the lands and honours belonging and 
incorporate in the duchy of Lancaster, were thus brought unto the 
crown, and consequently, the castle and honour of Pontefract was in- 
cluded. A short time after Richard was deprived of his crown, he was 
removed from the tower to the castle of Leeds, in Kent, and front 
thence to the castle of Pontefract, which was deemed the best for 
secresy as well as security ; and where he could have no intercourse 
with his friends and partizans. 

* The king then sent king- Richard to Leedis 

There to be kept surely in previte. 

Fro' thens after, to Pykering wente he needis 

And to Knaresburgh, after he led was he 

But to Pountfrete last, where he did die 

Both therles of Kent and Salisbury 

Therl of Huntingdon and Spencers sothely.'— Harding's Chron. 

Shakspeare thus elegantly describes the reflections of Richard 
whilst imn^ured within the dreary walls of the castle of Pontefi-act 

• I have been studying how to compare 
This prison, where I live, unto the world j 
And, for because the world is populous. 
And here is not a creature but myself, 
I cannot do it ;— Yet I'll hammer it out. 
My brain I'll prove the female to my soxil ; 
My soul, the father : and these two beget 
A generation of still-breeding thoughts. 
And these same thoughts people this world j 
In humours, like the people of this world. 
For no thought is contented. The better sort,— » 
As thoughts of things divine, are intermix'd 
With scruples, and do set the word itself 
Against the word : 

* Knyghton, CoU275. 



134 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACr, 

Ab thiis, — Come little ones ; and then again, — 
It is as liard to come, as for a Camel 
To thread the postern of a needle's eye. 
Thoughts tending to ambition, they do plot 
Unlikely wonders : how these vain weak nails 
May tear a passage through the flinty ribs 
Of this hard world, my ragged prison-walls ; 
And, for they cannot, die in their own pride. 
Thoughts tending to content, flatter themselves, — 
That they are not the first of fortune's slaves. 
Nor shall not be the last ; like silly beggars, 
Who, sitting in the stocks, refuge their shame, — 
That many have, and others must sit there : 
And in this thought they find a kind of ease. 
Bearing their own misfortune on the back 
Of such as have before endur'd the like. 
Thus play I, in one person, many people. 
And none contented : Sometimes am I a King r 
Then treason makes me wish myself a beggarr 
And so I am : Then crushing penuiy 
Persuades me, I was better, when a King > 
Then am I king'd again ; and, by-and-by, 
Tliink, thst I am unking'd by Bolingbroke,- 
And straight am nothing : — But whate'er I am. 
Nor I, nor anj"^ man, that but man is. 
With nothing shall be pleas'd till he be eas'd 
With being nothing. 

Althougli the bard has so finely pourtra5'ed the meditations of the* 
unfortunate monarch, yet it is rather singular, that an event so me- 
lancholy and important, should have been totally omitted by the inde- 
fatigable Camden, who styled this fortress *principiim caede et san- 
guine infamis.'* 

Henry, however, had very nigh fallen a sacrifice to the vengeance" 
of those noblemen who had suflFered fiom his accession to the throne, 
A plan is said to have been projected on the 13th. December, 1398, by 
the abbot of Westminster, whose house was the rendezvous of the dis- 
affected lords. They resolved to dethrone Henry and restore Richardi* 
and one Maudlin, who had been chaplain to Richard and who resem- 
bled that prince exactly in his lineaments and persan, was hired as^ 
their tool. They resolved to institute a tournament at Oxford, and 
tSie duke of Aumerle, who enjoyed a good share of Henry's confi- 
dence, was to invite him to that diversion, when it would be in their 
power to seize, or assassinate him. A rumom- being buzzed about con- 
cerning the disaffection which prevailed in the realm, a petition for 
the immediate execution of Richard was presented by the arehbbhop 

* Speed 760—18. 
t ArchKol, p. 217. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 135 

of York and Canterbury, the duke of York and others. The tourna- 
ment was, however, proclaimed by the duke of Exeter and the earl of 
Salisbury, and all the conspirators were assembled, except Aumerle, 
whom they anxiously awaited. Aumerle, however, who had gone to 
visit his father, the duke of York, at Langley, was detected by his 
parents. The duke, on perceiving a packet in the bosom of his son, 
questioned him as to its contents, and his countenance betraying con- 
fusion, the duke snatched the paper, and having perused it, ordered 
his horses to be immediately saddled. Aumerle, however, reached the 
king before his father, and informing him of the plot obtained his 
pardon. 

The lords, on hearing of the discovery of their plot, resolved to 
execute by force what they could not effect by stratagem. Maudlin 
they clothed in royal attire, affirming and publishing, that he was 
Richard escaped from prison, and come to implore the assistance of 
his loving subjects. The fate of the unhappy prince wrought so upon 
the compassion of the people, that they forgot his vices, remembered 
his comely appearance, and his birth ; and the magnificence and 
splendor which ushered in his reign. — 

' Fair laughs the morn, anri soft the zephyr blows. 

While proudly riding o'er the azure realm, 

In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes ; 

Youth on the prow, and pleasure at the helm ; 

Regardless of the sweeping whirlwind's sway. 

That, liush'd in grim repose, expects his evening prey.* 

The populace pitied his misfortunes and such numbers flocked to 
his standard, that they resolved to march to London. The rebellion 
was, however, quelled by the mayor of Cirencester, who with a band of 
400 men, suddenly attacked the camps of the conspirators, and 
dispersed the whole army, taking many of the barons captive. 

These factious tumults hastened the death of the unfortunate 
prince, for certain it is, he did not long survive his deposition, though 
the exact time and manner of his death be not certainly known.* — 
HoUingshed states, that he died on St. Valentine's day, * a happie daie 
to hym, for it was the beginninge of hys ease, and the endynge of hys 
paine : so that deathe was to hym, dauntie and sweete as the poet 
saithe, and that verie well in breefe, 

Dulce mori miseris 

Neque est melius morte in mails rebus.' — corn : qall. 

Polydore Virgil says * that hys dyet beinge serued in, and set be- 
fore hym, in the wonted princelie manner, hee was not suffered to 

* Fioissart, t. 4 ch, 119. 



136 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

taste or touch thereof, and so died of famine,'t and in Stowe's annals 
of Henry IV. he is said to have been ' fifteen dayes and nightes kepte 
in hunger, thyrste, and colde till he dyed.'J The poet Gray, in his 
Pindaric ode of the bard, is of opinion that he was starved to 
death ■. — 

Fill high the sparkling bowl, 

The rich repast prepare, 
Reft of a crown, he yet may share the feast : 

Close by the regal chair 
Fell thirst and famine scowl 
A baleful smile upon their baffled guest. 

Sir John Fortescue says, that Richard died * a deathe neuer before 
that time knowne in England.* Hector Boethius|| erroneously states 
him to have fled disguised into Scotland, vrhere he gave himself to 
contemplation ; and where he died, and was buried at the Black Friais, 
in Stirling. In the works of Walsingham, Otterbourne, the monk of 
Evesham, x\myott, Creton Bibl. au roy, 10. 212. et seq. his death is 
stated to be through grief and voluntary abstinence .§ Speed thus 
wi-iteth : ' He was starued to deathe, seems uerie plaine, tho' as it is 
not certaine ( neither yet vnlikelie,) that kinge Henry was priuie to so 
foul a parricide, so neither is it knowne, but that Richard might as 
well be starued of purpose, (Hypod. Neust.) as starue himselfe. Scroope 
archbishop of York at the time, also mentions his death to be ' from 
want of support, (ut vulgariter dicitur,) 1| and althoughMr Webb, in the 
translation of a French metrical legend, published in the 20th vol. of the 
Archaeologia, and Mr. Amyott, members of the antiquarian society, 
(archaeol. p. 429.) have ably and indefatigably discussed the points re- 
lating to his deposition and death, yet the real manner still remains 
in impenetrable mystery* 

Hollingshed informs us, that ^ another writer which seemeth to haue 
great knowledge of king Richard's dooings, saith, that king Henrie 
sitting on a dale at his table, sore sighing, said ; Haue I no faithful! 
freend which will deliuer me of him, whose life will be my death ; 
and whose death will be the preseruation of my life ? This saieng 
was much noted of them which were present, and especiallie of one 
called Sir Piers of Exton. This knight incontinentlie departed from 
the court, on the 5th. Feb. 1339, with eight strong persons in his com- 
panie, and came to Pomfret, commanding the esquier that was accus- 

t Hypodig Neust. Harding c. 200. 

t Vide Vita Richardi IV. p. 169. Scali Mundi MSS. Norf. Harding, Petrus de 
Tickham, et cet. 

Lib. 16. 

1 Richardus quondam rex Angliae ctim audisset hsec infortunia, mente conster- 
natus, semetipsum extinxit in aedia voluntaria (ut fertur) clausitque diem extremum 
apud castrum de Pontefracto, die sancti Valentini. — Thos. Wals. 

y Anglia Sacra, torn ii. p. 365. Vita Richardi II. p. 162. Otterbourne p. 229. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. I9P 

tomed to sew and take the assaie to doo so no more, saieing . Let him 
eat now, for he shall not long eat. King Richard sat downe to dinner, 
and was serued without courtesie or assaie, whereupon much maruel- 
ling at the sudden change, he demanded of the esquier, whie he did 
not doo his duty ; * Sir, (said he,) I am otherwise commanded by Sir 
Piers of Exton, which is newlie come from K. Henrie.' When king 
Richard heard that woord, he took the keruing knife in his hand, and 
strake the esquier on the head, saieng, * The diuell take Henry of 
Lancaster and thee togither.' And with that word. Sir Piers entered 
the chamber, well armed, with eight tall men likewise armed, euery of 
them having a bill in his hand.' 

' King Richard perceining this, put the table from him, and step- 
ing to the foremost man, wrung the bill out of his hands, and so vali- 
antlie defended himselfe, that he slue foure of those that thus came to 
assaile him. Sir Piers being half dismayed herewith, lept into the 
chaire where king Richard was wont to sit, while the other foure per- 
sons fought with, him, and chased him about the chamber. And in 
conclusion, as king Richard trauersed his ground, from one side of 
the chamber to another, and comming by the chaire, where Sir Piers 
stood, he was felled with a stroke of a pollar, which Sir Piers gave 
him upon the head, and therewith rid him out of life, the 14th of Feb- 
ruary, 1399. It is said that Sir Piers of Exton, after he had thus slain 
him, wept right bitterlie, as one stricken with the pricke of a giltie 
conscience, for murthering him whom he had so long time obeied as 
king.'* 

Before the unfortunate monarch breathed his last, he exclaimed, 
* My great grandfather king Edward IL was in this manner deposed, 
imprisoned and murdered, by which means my grandfather, king 
Edward III. obtained possession of the crown, and now is the punish- 
ment of that injiiry, poured upon his next successor. Well, this is 
right for me to suffer, but not for you to do. Your king for, a time, 
may joy at my death, and enjoy his desire, but let him qualify his plea- 
sure with the expectation of the like justice, for God who measureth 
all our actions, by the malice of our minds, will not suffer this violence 
unrevenged.'t 

That hand shall burn in never-quenching fire^ 

That staggers thus my person. — Exton, thy fierce hand 

Hath with the king's blood stained the king's own land. 

Mount, mount my soul ! thy seat is upon high ; 

Whilst my gross flesh sinks downward, here to die. — Shakspeabk- 

* Hon. Chron. ii. 617. 

t Rapin. Fabian. Hall. Hayward. MSS. Ambassades, et alii MSS. sn Bibl, du 
Roy, a Paris, Le laboureur, Hist. Chas. VII, 



138 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

DanieD, m his work on the civil wars, thus writes of this unfortu- 
nate monarch . — 



Whether the soul receives intelligence, 
By her near genius, of the body's end. 
And so imparts a sadness to the sense. 
Foregoing ruin whereto it doth tend j 
Or, whether nature else hath conference 
With profound sleep, and so doth warning send. 
By prophetizing dreams what hurt is near. 
And gives tlie heavy careful heart to fear : — 

II. 

However, so it is, the now sad king, 
Toss'd here and there, his quiet to confound. 
Feels a strange weight of sorrows gathering 
Upon his trembling heart, and sees no ground ; 
Feels sudden terror bring cold shuddering j. 
Lists not to eat : still muses, sleeps unsound. 
His senses droop, liis steady eyes unquick, 
And much he ails, and yet lie is not sick, 

III. 

The morning of that day which was his last, 

After a weary rest, rising to pain. 

Out at a little grate his eyes he cast. 

Upon those bordering hills, and open plain 

Where other's liberty make him complain 

The more his own, and grieves his soul the more. 

Conferring captive crowns with freedom poor. 

IV. 

O happy man, saith he, that lo I see. 
Grazing his cattle in those pleasant fields. 
If he but knew his good. How blessed he. 
That feels not what affliction greatness yields !' 
Other than what he is he would not be. 
Nor change his state with him that sceptre wields, 
Think, thine is that true life : that is to live. 
To rest secure, and not rise up to grieve. 



Thou sitt'st at home, safe by thy quiet firei. 
And hear'st of other's harms, but fearest none r 
And there thou tell'st of kings, and who aspire. 
Who fall, who rise, who triumph, who do moan. 
Perhaps thou talk'st of me, and dost enquire 
Of my restraint, why here I live alone. 
And pitiest this my miserable fall : 
For pity must have part— envy not at alL 



HISTORY OF PONTEFllACT. 139 

VI. 

Thrice happy you that look as from the sliore, 

And have no venture in the wreck you see ; 

No interest, no occasion to deplore 

Other men's travels, while yourselves sit free. 

How much doth your sweet rest make us the more 

To see our misery and what we be : 

Whose blinded greatness, ever in turmoil. 

Still seeking happy life, makes life a toil. 

The above account of Richard being murdered is the most gene- 
rally received and accredited ; although most authors agree as to his 
having suffered from famine and starvation, yet the earls of Northum- 
berland and Worcester, when they had revolted from Henry, and were 
on the plains of Shrewsbury in battle array, presented a manifesto 
to Henry, containing amongst other acts of tyranny, the murder 
of Ricliard. Richard died in the 33d year of his age ; and his fate 
excited pity and regret in every compassionate bosom. His greatest 
foible was an excessive fondness and unbounded liberality to his favor- 
ites, which greatly exasperated his uncles, particularly the duke of 
-Gloucester, and disgusted such of the nobility as were not partakers of 
his bounty. 

Se how Richard, of Albyoun the king, 
Which in hys tyrhe, riche and glorious was, 
Sacred with abyte, with croune, and with rynge ; 
Yet felle his fortune soe, and eke hys cas. 
That ivil counsaile rewlyed hym soe, elas ! 
For mystretyng lordis of his monarchie. 
He faine was to resigne, and in prisoun dye.— 

Richard's corpse was embalmed, seared, and covered with lead, 
■the face being only exposed, that all might see and know that he was 
dead. By order of Henry he was conveyed from Pomfret to London, 
dirge being sung over him every evening, and mass of requiem every 
morning ; and after each service his face was uncovered for all to be- 
hold him. He laid three days in St. Paul's, and was interred in the 
church of the friars preachers at Langley, in Hertfordshire, king 
Henry being present, and the exequies of the burial being solemnized 
by the abbats of St. Albans and Maltham, yet npne of the nobles at- 
tended. He was afterwards removed by order of Henry V. to West- 
minster Abbey,* where he was entombed amongst his ancestors. For 
him and his first queen Anne, Henry caused to be erected a glorious 
tomb of grey marble on the south side of the chapel of the kings, near 

* Levatum fuit corpus quondam Richardi regis Anglia;, quod humatum fuerat, 
intra ecclesiam fratrum predicatorum de Langley, et deportatum Londonias, ac apud 
Westmonasteriensium regaliter tumulatum, non sine maximis expensis tegis nunc, qui 
fatebatur se sibi tantum venerationis debere, qxiantum patri sue cainali.— Thos. Wals, 



140 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

saint Edward's shrine, upon which lie their portraitures of gilt copper, 
with this pompous epitaph : — 

Prudens et mundus, Richardus jure secundus, 
Per fatum victus, jacet hie sub marmore pictus, 
Verax sermone, fuit et plenus ratione, 
Corpore procerus, animo prudens ut Homerus, 
Ecclesiae favit, elatos sappeditavit, 
Quemuis prostravit, regalia qui violavit. 

In order to decide of the manner in which Richai'd died, his tomb 
in Westminster Abbey was opened, in the presence of many of the 
members of the Antiquarian and Royal Societies j but as the royal coi*pse 
was not disturbed, nor the bandage on the head removed, so as the 
skull might be examined, the subject still continues in doubt. For it 
should be remembered that the stroke said to be given to Richard by 
Exton, was on the back of the head, and the only part of the body un- 
covered, was from the eye brows to the throat.* 

* Corpus ostensumfuit, ea pars saltern, corporis per quod cognosceri poterat fades scilicet 
ab una parte frontis usque ad guttur. — Otterbourne, 229. 

Froissart gives the following account of Richard : — ' I could not tell when I wrote 
this chronicle ; but this King Richard dead, was laid in a litter, and set in a chaire 
covered with baudkin, fom- horses, all black, in the chaire, and two men in black lead- 
in the chaire, and four knights, all in black, following. Then the chaire departed from 
the Tower of London, and was brought along through London fair and softly, till they 
came into Cheapside, where the chief assembly of London was, and there the chaire 
rested the space of two hours. Thither came in and out more than twenty thousand 
persons, men and women, to see him, as he lay, his head on a black cushion, and his 
visage open. Some had pity on him, and some had none, but said he had long ago de- 
served death.' 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACr. 141 



SECTION III. 

Henry after his accession to the throne, by the assent of his parlia- 
ment, declared and ordered by his charter, for himself and his heirs, 
that they should enjoy, use, and have the same rights, franchises and 
liberties in the duchy of Lancaster, as in all his earldoms, honors, man- 
ors, fees, possessions, and demesnes which he had by inheritance and 
otherwise ; and during his reign the castle of Pontefract was very fre- 
quently honoured with his royal presence. 

In the first -year he granted a passport for the earl of March, 
then in Scotland, dated the 21st of June, 1400* After the conflict at 
Shrewsbury, in which fell the valiant Hotspur, and about 6000 of the 
rebels ; the king marched to Pontefract in order to watch the motions 
of the Scots and the earl of Northumberland. He granted full power 
to persons to treaty: with the Scottish king, dated at Pontefract castle, 6 
Aug. 1403,t and on the 15th of the same month requested an oath 
from the Northumbrians to disobey their insurgent chieftain. But the 
earl disavowing his son's rebellion, and submitting himself to the king, 
he was pardoned for his life, and was committed to safe custody until 
restored to his possessions, in the 6th year of Henry IV.J In the 
year 1404, Henry granted full powers to treat with the king of Scot- 
land for the ransom of Mordac Stewart, earl of Fife, and Archibald, 
earl of Douglass, taken captive at the battle of Hallidon-Hill, dated 
at Pontefract, the 6th of July .- and in the same year a truce was 
signed between England and Scotland by the king, dated as above, at 
Pontefract. 

Henry fearing"] an insurrection . in the northern parts, about this 
time, came to Pontefract castle, when Sir William Clifford brought 
to him one Serlo, who had formerly been chamberlain to king 
Richard, and who had published abroad at the instigation of the coun- 
tess of Oxford, that Richard was alive in Scotland with a large army, 
and would ere long come and claim his right to the throne of England. 
The countess was committed to close custody, and her secretary who 

* Feed. Tctlow's History of Pontefract, 23. 
t Idem, t Collier's Historical Dicty. ii. 



142 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

had busied himself greatly in this affair, was executed. The earl of 
Northumberland being also tainted of this crime, came at the king's 
command, to Pontefract, bringing with him his nephews and their 
sons, and exculpated himself of all suspicion in this rebellion ; yet, 
Henry obliged him to give up the toAvn and castle of Berwick, and 
the fortress and forest of Jedburgh, with all its appurtenances ; in 
consideration of which he granted him other possessions for them, by 
the advice of parliament. Clifford also obtained his pardon of the 
king, for his services in apprehending Serlo, who being known to be 
the chief murderer of the duke of Gloucester at Calais, was tried at 
Pontefract, and sentence of death was passed upon him. He was 
immediately ' drawen from thence throug'h eurie goode towne, 
through which those that had the conueiance of him, passed with him 
till they came to London,' where he fell beneath the executioner's 
axe. 

In the year 1405, another insurrection burst forth, under the pro- 
jection of Richard Scroope archbishop of York, Henry Percy, earl of 
Northumberland, Thomas Mowbray earl Marshall, Thomas Lord 
Randolph, and many others ; and their resolve was to dethrone Heniy, 
and place the crown on the brows of the young earl of March. Henry 
being at London, was alarmed at this rebellious preparation, and hav- 
ing gathered all the forces he was possessed of, came to Pontefract, 
where he granted a power to compound with the rebels for their par- 
don, dated at Pontefract Castle, the 25th of April, 1405. The earl of 
Westmoreland perceiving the superiority of the archbishop's army, 
and knowing himself incapable of hazarding an engagement, had re- 
course to stratagem. Having persuaded the rebel chieftains to dis- 
band their troops on a promise of theii* demands being granted j he 
seized the archbishop, the earl marshall, sir John Lampley, and sir 
Robert Plumpton, and conducted them to the king, then at Pontefract 
castle, (June 3d,) when the king ordered them to be conducted to 
York, whither he was journeying. On the same day he granted an 
order to seize on the Isle of Man, which belonged to the earl of 
Northumberland. 

The prophecy of a sickly canon at Bridlington, was now fulfilled 
in this event, who foretold in these words : — 

Pacem tractabunt, sed fraudem subter arabunt. 
Pro nulla marca, saUibitur ille hierarcha,* 

For although Westmoreland had promised them pardon, yet were 
they condemned to death, by a mock tribunal, and suffered at York, on 

* HoU. Chron. ii.551. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 143 

the 8th of June, 1405 * Scroope was the first archbishop that ever 
suffered death in England by a sentence of the civil judge. Henry- 
punished the citizens of York for declaring themselves favourable to 
the archbishop's pretensions, and deprived the city of all its liberties 
and privileges.f He then marched northwards in pursuit of Northum- 
berland and Bardolph ; who finding themselves in great danger, fled 
into Scotland to the lord Fleming. Henry then returned back with 
his army and arrived at Pontefract on the 10th of August, where he 
made a grant of several great estates of the earl of Northumberland, 
the lord Bardolph and the late earl marshall, to his queen- J 

Although the two nobles had fled into Scotland, yet Henry feared 
so greatly their influence and power, that he ardently wished them as 
his prisoners ; and for this purpose he carried on a private negociation 
by means of the duke of Albany, with some Scottish noblemen ; but 
the lord of Fleming hearing of the scandalous compact, informed his 
English guests, who immediately proceeded with a small army into 
Wales, and joined with Owen Glendour. 

The two nobles having been reinforced by a body of Scottish free- 
booters, as well as by great numbers of the English, retook several of 
the earl's castles in Northumberland, and marching forward, arrived 
at Thirsk, in the north-riding of Yorkshire, where Roger de Mowbray 
set up the standard of revolt ; and the lords published a manifesto, 
declaring it to be their intention to redress the grievances of the na- 
tion. Sir Thomas Rokeby, sheriff, with a large army, then passed the 
Warf, at Wetherby, and brought the rebels to an engagement on 
Bramham Moor, near Haslewood, the 19th of February, 1408, in which 
the earl of Northumberland, and the lord Bardolph, were slain. |[ 
Henry had advanced as far Nottingham, when he received the agreea- 
ble news of the death of these two noblemen, who were his most 
inveterate enemies. He proceeded onwards to Pontefract castle, 

* Holl. Chron.ii.531. 

t Drake's Ebor. f. 439, Walsing. 373. Anglia Sacra. 3/0. 

t The king to his chosen and faithful servants John Stanley and Roger Leeche, 
greeting : 

Know ye that for certain special causes, intimately concerning us and the state of 
our kingdom of England, we do assign you, together or separately, our city of York, 
together with all and singular liberties, franchises, and privileges to the citizens of the 
said city, by our progenitors or predecessors sometimes kings of England, or ourself, 
before this time granted and confirmed, to take and seize into our hands ; and the said 
city thus taken and seized, till further order from us, in our name to keep and govern. 

And therefore we command you, or either of you diligently to take heed to the 
premises, and that you should do and execute them in the manner aforesaid. 

Also we command all and singular high sheriffs, mayors, bailiffs, and other officers, 
and all other our faithful subjects, as well within liberties as without, by the tenor of 
these presents, strictly to aid and assist you, or either of you, in the execution of the 
premises, being helpful, advising, and obedient to you as they ought. 

In testimony of which, &c. 

Witness the king at his Castle of Pontefract, the third day of June, 1405, in the 
sixth year of his reign. 

^ ^ By the KING, 

U Ottevbourne, 261, T. Walsing. 377. 



144 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

which place he reached on the 8th of April, and here he resided a 
month, engaged in trying and punishing some of the unhappy persons 
who had been engaged in the late insurrection, and in collecting mo- 
ney, by compounding with others for their delinquency. Amongst 
those who were capitally punished was the abbot of Hayles, because he 
had been taken in armour.* Whilst here he signed a truce for one 
year with Guienne, dated 30th of April, 1408. 

Henry V. confirmed all the privileges of Pontefract, and erected 
a duchy court in honour of the house of Lancaster, in order to distin- 
guish those lands from the estate of the crown, by letters patent, and 
with the consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and the commons 
in parliament assembled. He annexed to the duchy his honors, castles, 
hundreds manors, lands, tenements, reversions, immunities, fees,, 
advowsons, possessions, and demesnes, in the counties of Hereford, 
Essex, and Northampton, with all the privileges, franchises, &c. 

He gained at Agincourt, on Friday, the 25th of October, 1415, the 
most complete and splendid victory that was ever recorded in historic 
annals. His prisoners were men of rank and fortune j for many of the 
French nobility being on foot, and encumbered with heavy armour, 
were unable to make their escape. Amongst these were Charles duke 
of Orleans, nephew of Charles VI. of France, John duke of Bourbon, 
the lord Bouciqualt, one of the marshalls of France, the Counts d'Eu, 
Vendome, Richemont, and Harcourt, and 1500 barons, knights, and 
gentlemen.f The duke of Orleans and his fellow prisoners lived at 
Windsor, and had their liberty upon parole, until the year 1417, when 
the treaty for their ransom not being effected, according to promise, 
they were removed ta Pontefract castle, where they were kept close 
prisoners, at the king's request,^: who deemed the duke of Orleans' de- 
tention most important to the safe keeping of his conquest in France. 
They were placed under the care of an esquire named Robert Water- 
ton, and obtained their liberty about the latter part of the year 1440, 

* Otterbourne, 263. Henry's History of Britain, ix.31. 

f The number of French slain on the field of battle were estimated at 8400, of 
which 600 were honoured with the order of knighthood on the night previously to the 
battle. 

J King Henry the fifth to * * * * A Fragment. 
(MS. COTTON. VESP. fol. III. Col. 5. Orig.) 

Tliis fragment appears to have been written about the year 1418. 
Furthermore I wold that ye comend (communed) with my brothre, with the Chan- 
celler, with my cosin of Northumberlond, and my cosin of Westmerland, and that ye 
set a gode ordinance for my North Marches, and specialy for the Due of Orlians, and for 
alle the remanant of my prisoners of France, and also for the K. of Scotelond ; for as I 
am secrely enfourmed by a man of ryght notable estate in this lond that there hath ben 
a man of the Dues of Orliance in Scotland, and accorded with the d\ic of Albany that 
this next Somer he schal bryng in the mamnet (or Mahomet) of Scotland to Sturre what 
he may. And also that ther schold be founden weys to the ha\yng awey specialy of 
Due of Orlians, and also of the K. as welle as of the remanant of my forsayd prisoners 
that God do defende. Wherefore I wolle that the Due of Orliance be kept stille withyn 
the Castil of Pontefret, with owte goyng to Robertis place or to any othre disport, for it 
is bettr he lak his disport then we were disceyved. Of all the remanant dothe as ye 
thenketh. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 145 

and the duke's ransom was fixed at 120,000 crowns, as it appears from 
his own recognition of his liberty, dated 12th Nov. 1440. 

In the year 1424, the duke of Bedford released James the first, the 
young king of Scots, from his confinement in Pontefract castle, after 
he had been a prisoner in England from the year 1406, on condition of 
his paying 40,000 marks for the expense of his maintenance whilst in 
captivity ; and until this sum was paid, it was stipulated that Edinburgh, 
Perth, Dundee, and Aberdeen, should give a bond to the king of Eng- 
land, for 50,000 marks. In king Henry's letter concerning the duke 
of Orleans, James is likewise ordered to be carefully guarded; and it 
is not a little remarkable that Henry should, at the same time hold in 
durance two prisoners, both of royal blood, and confessedly the best 
poets of the age. 

Henry VJ. in the 7th year of his reign, granted a confirmation of 
the rights and privileges of the duchy of Lancaster, and honor of Pon- 
tefract, dated 4th June, 1428. 

The destructive conflicts between the Yorkists and Lancastrians 
for the English throne, spread desolation and bloodshed throughout 
the realm of England. After the battle of St. Albans, fought on the 
23d of May, 1455, in which the king's forces were worsted by the 
duke of York, John Exeter duke of Holland, who had escaped the 
slaughter of that day, fled for sanctuary to Westminster Abbey, from 
whence he was taken and sent prisoner to Pontefract castle,* against 
the order passed in the last parliament.f At the battle of Northamp- 
ton, which took place on the 19th of July, 1460, the duke of Buck- 
ingham, the earl of Shrewsbury, son to the famous Talbot, the lord 
Beaumont, the lord Egremont, and sir Wm. Lucie, and about 10,000 
soldiers, were slain. The queen, the prince of Wales, and the duke of 
Somerset, fled so precipitately, that they did not halt until they had 
arrived at Durham ; but the king fell into the hands of the victors. 
The duke of York then claimed the crown in parliament, and after 
much deliberation, it was unanimously resolved, that Henry should 
enjoy the crown for his natural life, and the duke of York be declared 
his successor ; and this resolution was reduced to an act of parliament. 

Meanwhile, Margaret having collected an army amounting to 
18,000 men, commenced her march, and resolved oil rescuing the king 
aud giving battle with the Yorkists ; and the duke of York apprised of 
her intention, hastened with an araiy of 5,000 men, accompanied by 
his son Edmund earl of Rutland, to meet her. He reached Wakefield 
on Christmas eve, and perceiving the greatness of Margaret's force, 
entered the castle of Sandall, and began to make muster of his tenants 

* Stowe, 400. Speede'3 Britain, 869-65. f Hoil Chron. ii, 646, 

V 



146 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACr. 

and friends, intending to await the succours of his son, the earl of 
March. The queen, however, appeared before the castle, and provoked 
him to battle by the most insulting messages, affecting to continue her 
route southwards ; and whether it was from the too great courage of his 
troops, the want of provisions, or the insults of the royalists, he chang- 
ed his mind and resolved to give them battle, contrary to the wish of 
the earl of Salisbury and sir David Hall, his two great confidants.* 
Margaret had then recourse to stratagem ; she ordered a body of troops 
under the command of the earl of Wiltshire and the lord de Clifford, to 
lay in ambush on the side of the hill, and the duke of Somerset and 
herself ranged a force on the plains. The duke of York descended 
down the hill in good order and array, and furiously charged the main 
body of the queen's troops ; but her numbers over-balanced his courage, 
and the troops in ambush falling suddenly on his rear, he was hemmed 
in on every side, ' soe that though he fought manfuUie, yet was he 
W)'^thyn one half e houre slayne and dead, and hys whole armie discom- 
fited.'t The body of the duke was buried in the priory of Pontefract. 
The battle of Wakefield was fought on the 31st of December, 1460^ 
in which the Yorkists were completely worsted, and the lord Harring- 
ton, sir John and sir William Mortimer, sir Hugh Hastings, sir Thos. 
Nevil, sir David Hall, William and Thomas Aparre, with other knights 
and gentlemen, amounting to 3000, J were slain. The earl of Salisbuiy, 
sir Ralph Stanley, sir Richard Limbricke, John Harow, Captain Han- 
son, then mayor of Hull, and many others were wounded, taken cap- 
tive and sent in a bleeding condition to Pontefract castle, where the 
queen ' most unwomanlie in coldbloud caused them to be beheaded^ 
and their heads conveyed to York, and there set on poles at the gates 
of the city. Clifford set a crown of paper on the duke's head in de- 
nsibn of his title, and presented it to the queen in her tent on the 
field of war, and she ordered it to be placed on the top of Micklegate 
bar, in York, with the face towards the city. 

The lord Clifford perceiving the duke's chaplain take away the 
earl of Rutland, a child of twelve years of age, from the field, pursued 
him, and overtaking him on Wakefield bridge, stabbed him to the heart 
with a dagger. 

Chaplain, away ! thy priesthood safes thy life. 

As^ for the brat of this accursed duke. 

Whose father slew my father, — he shall die.— 

* Hall, f. 98, 99. 

tin the very place where this battle was fought, was found, a many years after, 
a gold ring, supposed to belong to the duke. Within it was engraved in the charac- 
ters of that a§e, • Pour bon Jmour ;' and on the outside, which is very broad, were 
wrought the effigies of three saints. — Mag. Brit. Yorks. vi, 364. 

1 Baker's Chron. 196. Holl. Chron . ii. 659. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 147 

Some authors affirm that the duke of York was taken alive in this 
•^conflict, and was caused to stand on a Mole-hill,* his brows bound with 
a garland of sedger or bulrushes, in lieu of a crown, that the royalists 
knelt before him, saying * Hail, king without rule ! Hail, king without 
heritage, hail, duke and prince without people and possession ;' and 
that at the command of Margaret, they struck off his head. 

Off with his htad, and set it on York gates- 5 
So York may overlook the town of York.— 

This conquest, gained by the Lancastrian party, was disgraced by 
the barbarity with which they treated the vanquished ; but the conflict 
instead of re-establishing the affairs of Margaret and the prince of 
Wales, served only to hasten their ruin. The earl of March, far from 
being dispirited by the defeat and death of his father, was inflamed 
with the most eager desire for revenge. He marched from Wales at 
the head of 23,000 men, towards the city of London ; and on Caspar 
Tudoz*, earl of Pembroke, opposing his passage on Candlemas eve, at 
Mortimer's Cross, in Hertfordshire, a battle ensued, and the Lancastri- 
ans were defeated with the loss of 3,800 men. 

Margaret meanwhile attended by the dukes of Somerset and Exe- 
ter 4 the earls of Northumberland, Devonshire, and Shrewsbury ; the 
lords Fitz Hugh, Grey of Codemore, Roos, Greystock, Willes, and 
Willoughby ; with an army composed chiefly of northern freebooters, 
amounting to about 60,000 men, proceeded towards London ; when 
after many skirmishes with the Yorkists, and finding that Edwaid's 
forces-were near London, she retreated northwards in the hope of in- 
creasing her army to such a formidable number, as would ensure suc- 
cess and defy all opposition. 

Edward, joined by the forces of Warwick in Oxfordshire, entered 
London in triumph, amidst the enthusiastic acclamations of the people, 
who adored him for his affability and accomplishments, in which he 
excelled all the princes of his age. He was proclaimed king by the 
title of Edward the fourth, on the 5th of March, 1461, and on the 12th 
he marched from London with a gallant army of 50,000 men, in pursuit 
of the Lancastrian host, and in hopes of striking the decisive stroke 
against the queen and her adherents. He reached Pontefract castle 
on the 27th of March, and on the morrow detached the lord Fitz Wal- 
ter to guard the passage at Ferrybridge j the queen and her forces now 
being at York. 

The Lancastrian nobles having sworn to revenge the death of their 

* On the right hand of the highway leading from Sandall to Wakefield, is a small 
square plot of ground, hedged in from a close, within which (before the civil wars,) 
stood a stone cross, where Richard duke of York was slain. The owners are obliged by 
tenure of their land tQ hedge it in from the close,— Mag. Brit, Yorks, vi. 364, 



148 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



relatives, slain at the first battle of St. Alban's, (fought in June,) 1455, 
marched towards Ferrybridge, under the command of the duke of 
Somerset, the earl of Northumberland, and the lord Clifford, leaving 
Henry, his wife, and son, in safety within the city of York. They 
crossed the river Wharfe with all their power, when lord Clifford, one 
of the most inveterate foes to the house of York, pushed forward with 
his light horsemen, and reached Ferrybridge in the night of the 28th. 
Finding the guards asleep and unprepared for defence, he furiously 
attacked them, and drove them from the bridge. Again the Yorkists 
retui-ned to the contest, and a most bloody skirmish ensued. The lord 
Fitzwalter awakened by the tumult, and supposing it to proceed from 
some quarrel amongst his men, armed himself with a battle axe, and 
rushed to appease them ; but alas, too late aware of his mistake, he 
together with the bastard of Salisbury, brother to the earl of Warwick, 
a courageous young nobleman, lost their lives.* 

The earl of Warwick learning of this disastrous intelligence, and 
dreading the circumstances at this critical period, when an engage- 
ment was hourly expected, mounted his charger, and speedily reached 
Pontefract at a time when Edward was reviewing his troops. On 
arriving at the castle, he proceeded to the front of the troops, and 
communicated the tidings with uncommon emotion, and exclaimed 
* Sir, praie God haue mercie on theire soules, which in the beginning 
of your entei-prize haue lost their Hues ; and bicause, I see no succors 
of the worlde but in God, I remit the vengeance to him oui- creator 
and redeemer.' Then to convince his sovereign that his confusion did 
not proceed from any fear of his own personal danger, he leapt from 
his steed, which he immediately stabbed in sight of the whole army, 
exclaiming * Let him flee that will, for surelie I will tarrie with him 
that will tarrie with me.* He then kissed the hilt of his sword which 
was made in the form of a cross, to bind his vow, and swore that even 
if the whole army should forsake the king, he would remain and di-ain 
the last drop of blood from his veins, in defence of his cause. 

Edward then ordered a proclamation to be made amongst the sol- 
diery, that all who were afi-aid to fight had his leave to depart ; and 
to all those that tarried the battle he promised great rewai-ds, adding 
that if any soldier should voluntarily stay, and afterwards ' either in or 
before the fighte should seem to flee, or turne his backe,' then he who 
slew him should have great reward and double wages.* 

• There was found in digging a grave in Brotherton church yard. May 21, 1781, 
e chalice, very much mutilated, and its lid, a spur and part of a stocking. These most 
probably belonged to one of the lords slain at Ferrybridge, before the battle ot lowton, 
on Saturday, the 28th of May, 1461. , , ^ ^ 

It was usual to inter the lords who fell in this contest, near the place where they 
were slain ; and it is not improbable, that the chalice, spur and stocking might belong 
to Fitzwalter.— Archseol, ix. ob. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 149 

On this proclamation being ended, lord Falconbridge, sir Walter 
Blunt, and Robert Horn, with the foreward passed the river Aire at 
Castleford, three miles distant from Ferrybridge, with such secrecy, 
that Clifford, who still held the pass and had encamped his army on 
Brotherton, was not aware of their approach until they had suddenly 
attacked him. His troops were immediately thrown into confusion, 
and he made a precipitate retreat until he reached Dintingdale, near 
Towton, when he made a stand and a bloody conflict ensued. Whether 
CliflFord had lost his gorget in the confusion, on being so suddenly at- 
attacked by Falconbridge's detachment, or whether he had put it off 
from heat or pain, is uncertain, but whilst uncovered a headless arrow 
pierced his throat ; and thus died the lord Clifford, whose memory will 
ever bear a deep and crimson stain for the murder of the young earl 
of Rutland.f With Clifford was slain the brother of the earl of West- 
moreland, and nearly all his company. 

J. Whethemsted thus describes this conflict :— ^ 

M. semel X seno centum quater I. simul uno 

In Martis mense terdena denique luce. 

In patria Boreae Ferrebrig prope jugera villae, 

Pugna fuit plebis acris nimis et satis atrox. — 

Viceret Arcthos in bello Martius heros, 

Junius Edwaidus Hector novus alter Achilles 

Prostravit multos Austro tunc cessei'at Arcthos, 

Et doluit casum supra X. bis millia, quorum 

Quamplures domini plures et erant generosi 

Illius patriae flos et sors tunc cecidere. 

Et merit, oquoniam spoliarunt nequiter Austrum. — 

Laus igitur Domino, sit honor, sit gloria Christo 

Cessat nunc flatus grandis Boreaeque boatus, 

Inque Austrum rediit, JEolus ventum variavit, 

Est Boreas mordens, et valde ventus adurens 

Est Auster Justus, vult morsu rodere morsus, 

Et male mordentes bene vires tollere eidem. 

Est Zephyrus placidus, est suavis frater et ejus 

Hinc Boreasque Aquilo pro nunc clauduntur in antro.J 

Lord Norfolk who had the command of Edward's foreward having 
fallen sick, the lord Falconbridge at twilight on Palm Sunday the 
29th. of March, proceeded towards Saxton to reconnoitre and learn 
the strength of the Lancastrians. On learning their number to amount 
to three score thousand men, he dispatched the information to Edward 
at Pontefract, who immediately with the earl of Warwick/ set forward 
at the head of his troops amounting to eight and forty thousand six 

* Hell. Chron.ii. 664. 

t On account of CliflFord's inveterate hatred to the house of York, his son Thomas 
was brought up in obscurity with a shepherd, fearful of being known, until the reign of 
Henry VII. when he was restored to the possessions of his father.— Holl. Chron. ii. 664. 

* HoU. Chron, u. 1233. 



150 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

hundi'ed and three score persons, leaving the rear-ward under the 
command of Sir John Wenlock, Sir John Dinham, and others : and 
commanded that no quarter should be given and no prisoners taken. 

About nine o'clock in the morning of the same day each adverse 
host, inflamed with the most violent animosity and hatred, appeared 
front to front on the plains betwixt the villages of Saxton and Towton. 
When prepared for this bloody carnage, each party rent the air with a 
tremendous shout, and at this moment there fell a small sleet or snow, 
which was driven by a sharp wind against the Lancastrian forces, so 
that they were not able to perceive the motions of the enemy. The 
lord Falconbridge, however, taking advantage of this, ordered his body 
of archers to advance within shot of Henry's line to let fly a shower of 
arrows, and immediately retire. This had the desired eff"ect, — Henry 
commanded his archers to ply their bows until theii* quivers were 
emptied, and without having done the least execution, as they fell 
short of them by sixty yards. The Yorkists then advanced again, and 
poured their arrows amongst the Lancastrians, slaying immense num- 
bers of them, even with the shafts they picked up from the plain, when 
their own quivers were exhausted. The earl of Northumberland and 
Sir Andrew Tz'ollop, who commanded the van of Henry's amiy, seeing 
the disadvantage they labored under, rushed to close combat, grap- 
pling with the Yorkists, determined to conquer or to die. The battle 
raged with great fury from morning to night, and never was Palm 
Sunday so celebrated with spears instead of palms. Each host fought 
with the most implacable rancour and obstinacy for ten hours, when 
Edward animating his troops, inished with sui'prising courage against 
the enemies' front, and in one desperate onset broke theii- phalanx. 
Amazement and consternation sat on the face of the boldest, and their 
leaders, the earls of Westmoreland and Northiimberland being slain, 
the lords Dacres and Wells, Sii- Andrew Trollop, and many other offi- 
cers of distinction began to give ground, though not in disorder, 
intending to retreat to the bridge at Tadcaster. They accordingly 
preserved their ranks, wheeling about occasionally as they retired, 
until Edward and Warwick cheered their ti'oops to render the action 
decisive. Redoubling their efforts they chai'ged so furiously that the 
Lancastrians were thrown into utter confusion and fled. An immense 
number were slain on the field, but the chief slaughter happened near 
the river Cock, (a small stream which empties itself into the Wharf,; 
not very broad, but of great depth. Here the victors and the van- 
quished again were in mixed confusion and the carnage was dreadful. 
The waters of this stream were so much swollen that it was not forda- 
ble until the dead bodies of the Lancjistrians filled up the stream, and 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 151 

formed a bridge for the remainder to pass over. The stream ran pur- 
ple witli Lancastrian blood, and tinged the waves of the Wharf, and 
the ground covered with snow being stained for many miles around, 
had a most terrific appearance, — nor will this circumstance be incredi- 
ble to any, when it is noticed that in this conflict fell 36,776 warriors,* 
and amongst them many of the chief nobility of the English realm, as 
the earls of Northumberland, Westmoreland and Shrewsbury, the 
lords DacreSjf Welles, Willoughby, Stafford, Roos, Scales, Grey, 
and Molineux. Viscount Beaumont, Sirs Ralph Bigot, Richard Jeney, 
Andrew Trollop, John Nevill, Harry Bellyton and Robert Home, 
besides a prodigious number of knights and gentlemen^. The dukes 
of Somerset and Exeter escaped, but the earl of Devonshire was taken 
prisoner.§ 

Edward having gained this splendid victory posted to York, ho- 
ping to seize the king, queen, and the prince, but they had fled pre- 
cipitately to Scotland for aid. He then ordered the heads of his father 
and kinsmen to be taken down from the poles in the city, and interred 
with their bodies. The earl of Devonshire, vrith three others suf- 
fered death by martial law, and their heads were placed on the poles. ||r 

The battle of Towton decided the fate of the Lancastrians. The 
north which had generally supplied them with forces was exhausted, 
and the bravest warriors had fallen in the series of engagements; 
and Edward was now therefore sole master of England. 

On the 22nd of July, 1466, Edward removed the bones of his fa- 
ther from the church of the priory of St. John, at Pontefract, where 
they had been intombed, and placed them wrapped in a cloth of gold, 
and royal habit, in a chariot covered with black velvet, and drawn by 
seven horses trapped to the ground, covered with black, charged 
with escutcheons. Eveiy horse carried a man, and on the foremost 
rode Sir John Skipwith, who bare the banner of the prince displayed. 
At the feet of the corpse stood a white angel, bearing a crown of gold, 
to signify, that of right he was the king. 

All the bishops and mitred abbots honoured this solemnity by their 
attendance. Dressed in their pontifical robes, they went two or three 
miles before the procession, to prepare and consecrate the churches for 
the reception of the corpse of the prince. Richard duke of Glou- 
cester, followed next after the chariot, accompanied by the principal 

* Cont. Hist.Croyl.p.533. Holl. Chron. 665. 

t The coffin of lord Dacres was found in Saxton church yard, upon the stone 
cover of which was the following inscription : " Hicjacet RJNULPHUS HI. Dominus 
D'acre Dominm de Gilsland et Molton de Borea, Miles Strenuus, occidit Bello Pj-incipe 
HENRICO VI. Jo. Domini -Mcccc. Ixio, xxixo. Die Mensis Martij, videlicet Dominicae Die 
Palmarum.' (Gent's. Hist, of Yorks, 1733 p. 140.) 

t Stow p. 415, J. Whethemstead, p. 517 Hall's Hen. VI. fol. 101. 

§ Grafton, Brondi, Speed 1. p. 7B. c. 72, Holl. Chron. ii. 665. 

II Baker's Chron. p. 2C>3. 



152 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

noblemen of the kingdom, and a number of officers at arms. In this 
order the procession departed from Pontefract, followed by an im- 
mense concourse of spectators, and the first night they reached Don- 
caster ; and from thence proceeded by easy journeys to Blythe, 
Tuxford, Newark, Stamford, and then to Fotheringay, where they 
arrived on July 29.* 

Edward IV. the queen, and officers of state, met the proces- 
sion as it entered Fotheringay. They proceeded into the church, near 
to the high altar, where there was a hearse covered with black, and 
furnished with a number of banners, banerols and pensils ; and under 
the said hearse, were laid the bones of the prince and his son Edmund. 
Over the hearse was a cloth of majesty, of black sarcenet, with the 
figure of our Lord sitting on a rainbow beaten in gold, having in every 
corner escutcheons of the arms of England and France quarterly. 
Aroimd the hearse was a valance of black sarcenet, fringed half a 
yard deep, on which were three angels of beaten gold, holding the 
arms within a garter. 

Upon the 30th several masses were said, and then at the Offertory 
of the mass of requiem, the king offered for the prince, his father ; the 
queen and her two daughters offered afterwards ; then Norroy, king at 
arms, offered the prince's coat of arms ; March, king of arms, the tar- 
get J Ireland, king of arms, the swoi'd ; Windsoi", herald at anus of 
England-:-and Rovenden, herald at arms of Scotland, offered the helmet, 
and Mr. de Ferrys, the harness and courser.f 

About the yeai* 1470, a dangerous insurrection took place in York- 
shire, stirred up by the earl of Warwick, and the duke of Clarence, 
denounced by Edward as rebels ; and the people declaring for Henry, 
he was released from the tower and restored to the throne, whilst 
Edward, expelled from the dominions, fled to Holland for safety. In 
the Paston letters there is an account of several persons who were ta- 
ken and confined in Pontefract castle. * John Pilkington, Mr. W. at 
Cliff, and Fowler are taken, and in the castle of Pontefi-act, and are like 
to die hostily ; Sir T. Montgomery and Jourdane be taken, what shall 
fall of them 1 cannot say.* 

Having gained reinforcements Edward, however, landed at Ravens- 
purg, in Yorkshire, about the latter end of March j and Wai*wick, on 
learning this, wrote to his brother the marquis of Montacute, who had 
lain at Pontefract castle all the winter, with a large army, to dispute 
his passage ; but he suffered him to pass by about three miles distant 
on the left hand. The real cause of this mysterious conduct will never 

* Mag. Brit. vi. 36i. f Sandford's MSS.— Bib, Top. vol vi. Fotheringay. 



insTORY OK rONTEFRACT. 153 

be known with certainty ; but among the various conjectures concern^ 
ing it, the most probable account is, that the duke of Clarence had s«nt 
him orders not to fight until he had joined him.* 

Edward having routed the Lancastrian forces, and slain the carl 
of Warwick and the marquis of Montacute, their leaders, at th« 
battle of Barnet, entered London in triumph, on the 21st of May, 
m\6. the next morning Henry VL was found dead in the toM^er, so that 
he was once more firmly established on the throne. In the 4th year 
of his reign, letters of safe conduct were granted to John lord <ie 
Lanoy of France, at ffte request of the duke ofBrngundy, dated at 
Pontefract Castle, the lOtii December, 1463. 

By the advice of the Jords spiritual and temporal, and commons iu 
j'-arlifunent at Westminster, on the 26"th of May, 14.-67, Edward, in the 
.•i:<tcenth year of his reign, ordained that the dutchy of Lancaster be 
scperated from the rest ol his inlieritance, and ordered that there 
should be a seal, and chancellor for the safe keeping of it, belonging 
to the dutchy, with other officers and councellors for its particular 
government. He also ordained that all officers, ministers, tenants, 
and inhabitants of the dutchy, should enjoy all the liberties, franchises, 
immunities, privileges, &c. as they had formerly enjoyed during th-e 
reign of Henry V. and as they were enjoyed before the 4th of Novem- 
ber, 1461, (the day on which his first charter was granted respecting 
the rights of the dutchy of Lancaster,) and that with the honor of 
Pontefract parcel of the said dutchy, all and singular the said liberties, 
customs, franchises, and jura regalia, be exercised and continued.^ 

On the 26th September, (nineteenth Edwai'd IV.) 1478, Edward 
made a progress into the north, accompanied by a very numerous 
suit of dukes, marquisses, earls, barons, and a great retinue of other 
courtiers. He was met on his journey by all the public officers and 
gentry of these parts, amongst whom were the lord mayor of York, 
and many of the richest citizens, who went as far as Wentbridge to 
nieet him, and escorted him to Pontefract, where the king remained 
a week, and then set off for York. 

When Edward the 5th ascended the throne of England he was 
only twelve years of age, and was under the care o'xhis uncle Anthony, 
earl Rivers. His court was divided into two parties, and the duke of 
Gloucester concerted measures (under the semblance of fealty to him 
as his future sovereign,) to wrest the sceptre from him. He claimed 
the regal office of protectour, and Rivers, with sir Richard Grey, one 
of the queen's sons, and sir Thomas Vaughan, an officer of the liouse- 

* Stowe, 423. 

t T. Rege We»t. 26 May, ao. rcg. nrs. 16, 1467. 

W 



154 HISTORY OF PONTfeFaACT. 

hold, being aware of his ambitious and evil intentions, levied a mighty 
ai'my against him. The queen, however, commanded him to disband 
his troops, and bring the young king to Westminster, to be crowned ; 
and Rivers unhesitatingly complied with this request, and set out from 
Ludlow castle with the king for London, without any other attendants 
than a few domestics. 

Gloucester, ambitious to secure the administration during Ed- 
ward's minority, determined on intercepting the paity, and seizing 
the young king ; and for this purpose he marched from York with a 
numerous retinue, on the 29th of April. He reached Ston^' Stratford 
at nightfall, and spent the evening with the young king, and his guar- 
dians, in convivial mirth and pleasantry. But next morning, the earl , 
JRivers, uncle to the young king, the lord Richard Grey, his brother 
by the mother's side, sir Thomas Vaughan, and sir Richard Hawse, 
knights, were made prisoners and sent to Pontefract castle,* where 
they were executed without form of trial, or being allowed to make 
the least, defence, all their other attendants being dismissed, and a 
proclamation issued to forbid their appearance at court, under pain of 
death.t 

The day of Edward's coronation (13th June,) was postponed, on 
account of Gloucester's charge against Hastings. He accused him of 
being a traitor, conspiring with others to murder the king, and com- 
manded him to be immediately put to death, which cruel sentence was 
executed with equal barbarity:— they beheaded hhn on a log of wood 
which lay in the court of the tower ; and a still more bloody tra- 
gedy was executed at Pontefract on the same day. 

Sir Richard Ratcliffe was then governor of Pontefract castle, and 
arrived here from the north with 5000 troops, when Gloucester's man- 
date reached him, for the execution of the earl Rivers, the king's 
uncle, and the most accomplished man of his age, the lord Richard 
Grey, sir Thomas Vaughan, w-ho had been chamberlain to the 
king, when prince of Wales, and sir Richard Hawse,t 'whiche 
execution was doone by the ordre and in the presence of sir Rich- 
ard RaclifFe, knight ; whose service the protectour speciallie used 
in the execution of such lawlesse enterprises, as a man that he 
^ad been long secrete with, hauing experience of the worlde, and 
shrewed wytte, short and rude in speeche, rough and boysterous 
of behaviour, bolde in mischeefe, as farre from pitye as from the fear 
of God. This knight bringing them out of prison to the scaffold at the 
day appointed, and shewing to the people about that they were trai- 

* Hist. Croyl. p. 56o. 

+ Idem. 

J Hisl. Croyl. p. 567. Sir T. More, p. 496. 



]fiflSTORY OF PONTEFKACT. 155 

fours, (not suiFerying them to declare and speake their innocenciej 
least their wordes might have inclyned men to pytie them, and to 
hate the protectour and his part,) caused them hastilie, without judg- 
ment, processe, or manner of ordre, to be behedded, and without 
other eartiilie gylt hut onelie that they were good men, too true to the 
king and too nigh to the qiieerie,* insomuch as sir Thomas Vaughan, 
going to his death sayd, A wo worth them that tooke the prophecy 
that G. should destroy king Edward's children (meaning that lord G. 
duke of Clarence; which for that suspicion is now dead, but nowe re- 
may neth Richard, Duke of G. whiche now I see is he that shall and 
wyll destroy kyng Ed. children and all their alyes and frendes, as ap- 
peareth by us this day, whom I appele to the highe tribunal of God 
for his wrongful murther and oure true innocencye; and then Racliff 
sayd, 3'ou have well apeled, lay downe your head, ye sayd sir Thomas 
I dye in wright, beware you do not dye in wrong, and so that good 
knight was beheaded and the other tluee and b\iried naked in the 
monastery at Pounfrete.'f 

Anthony VVood^-ille, the gallant earl of Rivers, was in the forty- 
first year of his age, and was accounted one of the most accomplished 
noblemen of his age ; sir Thomas More asserts, that ' Hand facile 
discernas manuve aut consilio promptior' equally able to advise, and 
to execute in affairs of state ; and, lord Orford observes, ' that the 
credit of his sister, the countenance and example of his prince, the 
boisterousness of the times, nothing softened, nothing roughened the 
mind of this amiable lord, who was as gallant as his luxurious brother- 
in-law, without his weakness, and devout after the manner of those 
whimsical times, when men challenged others whom they never saw, 
and went barefooted to visit shrines, in countries, of which they 
scarcely held a map.' Amongst the translations of this nobleman, were 
* the dictes and sayinges of Philosophres,* 1477, folio j and * the mor« 
ale prouerbes of Chrystine,' 1478, folio ; in the latter of which, Cax- 
ton the printer, added this stanza : 

Of these sayynges Christyne was the aucturesse. 
Which in makynghadd suclie intelligence, 
That thereof she was mireiir and maistress ; — 
Hire werkes testifie th' experience : 
In Frenssh languaige was written this sentence 
And thus englished doth hit rcherse, 
Antoin Wideuylle, th*erle Ryuers.r— 

The family of Woodville cannot be traced of higher antiquity thatt 
the reign of Edward III. when Richard de Woodville was sheriff of 

* Holl.Chron. ii. 724. 

t Vide Shakspcare's Richard Ul^ 



IB& HISTORY OF PONTEFRACt. 

Northamptonsliire. His son, John de Woodville, held the same offie-i*, 
and Iiad a son, Richard, who, in addition to his paternal offices, was 
Constable of the tower of London, in the reign of Henry VI. He niar- 
ried Jacqueline, duchess dowager of Bedford, daughter of Peter de 
Luxembourg, earl of St. Pol, descended also from the family of Baux, 
dukes of Andree, and from Lusignan, king of Cyprus, during the cru- 
sades. This Richard was created earl Rivers by his son-in-law, Edward 
IV. a title which descended to his son Anthony, who fell a sacrifice to 
the political tyranny of Richard IH.* Whilst a prisoner in Pontefract 
castle he composed the following balet, which is highly interesting 
and ciirious. It was printed in the first edition of Percy's Reliques, 
fi'om an imperfect copy preserved by Rouse, Cp. 214) the defects of 
which were afterwards supplied by the Fairfax MSS.f 

Rouse introduces this poem in the following terms : * Dominus- 

conaes de Rivers Antonius Woodvylle in tempore incarcerationis 

apud Pontemfractum edidit umim balet in Anglicis, ut mihi monstra- 
turn est, q\iod subsequitur sub hiis verbis : 

'Sum what musyng. 
And more morenyng,. 
In remenibryng- 

the imstydfaslnes j: 
This world beyng. 
Of such whelyng 
Me ccatraryyng, 

what may t gess I 

• I fere dowtles 
Hemedyless 

Is now to cess 

my wofuU chaunce %. 
For unkyndness 
Withouten less, 
And no redress 

me doth avaunce. — 

• With displesaunce. 
To my grete grevaanccj^ 
And no suraunce 

of remedy ; 
Lo ! in this traunce, 
Now in substaunce, 
Siich is my daunce, 
willyng to dye. 

• Me thynkyth truly, 
Bounden am I, 
And that gretly, 

to be content ; 

* Howard's Lady Jane Grey, and her Times, p. 9, f Sloaxnan Coll, No, 546o, 



157 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Saying playnly, 
Fortune doth wry 
All contrary 

for myn entent.— 

' My life was lent 
To on entent. 
It is ny spent ; 

Wellcum fortune ! 
Yet I ne went 
Thus to be spent. 
But sho it ment ; 

Such is hur won.* 

It is astonishing, that notwithstanding the detestation in which 
the name of Richard was held by all, save his own creatures, no sen- 
sation should appear to have been excited by this most atrocious mur- 
der. So far as history elucidates these scenes, there appears to have 
been scarcely any high or generous feelings ; every noble sentiment 
being swallowed in the vortex of ambition, arrogance, and revenge, 
the tremendous evils of despotism. 

Richard paved his way to the throne by murder and bloodshed, 
and arrogantly assumed the royal functions. His ruling passion was 
ambition, for the gratification of which, he trampled upon all laws, 
human and divine. 

He made a progress into the north in the year 1483, and arrived 
at Pontefract castle on Saturday the sixth of September. Previ- 
ous to his departure from London, he had commissioned sir Wal- 
ter Tyrrel to. see the young princes destroyed in the tower, and 
his orders being executed, Tyrrel overtook Richard on the road 
between Pontefract and York, and was received by him with marked 
approbation and respect. After circulating the report of the death of his 
nephews, he proceeded on towards York, where he was crowned king 
of England, Tyrrel officiating at the coronation as master of the horse.i- 

He incorporated the borough of Pontefract, and created John Hill 
the first mayor, in the month of July, 1484, and the charter was con- 
firmed by parliament on the 9th of August in. the same year. 

Richard, however, was not permitted to enjoy the throne of Eng- 
land in peace and tranquillity ; clouds began to gather in several 
places and to threaten him with dreadful storms. Amongst the plots 

* This piece is pointed out to be in imitation of Chaucer's poems, beginning thus: 

' Alone walking. 

Is thought playning, 

And sore sighing 

all desolate ^ 

My remembryng 
Of my lyving, , 
My deathe wyshing 

Bothe early and late,* &c, — Urrey, p. 555, 

* Rouse, 216. Chr. Croyl. More, 



i58 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT^. 

concerted against Richard, the most formidable was that of the earl of 
Buckingham, by M'hose assistance Richard had been raised to the 
throne ; and Henry, eail of Richmond, being then in Brittany, and 
possessing advantages which recommended him to the notice of the 
conspirators, they entreated him to come into England with all the 
force he could collect.* In the year 1485, Richmond landed at Milford 
Haven, on the 7th of August, and after skirmishing until the 23d, en- 
camped at Bosworth Field, and the battle fought there, although it was 
neither long nor bloody, cost Richard his life. 

Henry, by his marriage with the princess Elizabeth, put an end to 
the long and cruel war which had for a whole age subsisted between 
the two houses of York and Lancaster ; and those dreadful slaughters 
which had so depopulated the English realm, were now concluded. 
In him was effected the union of the red and white rose. 

Diuision kindled strife. 
Blest union quencht the flame r 
Thense sprang our noble phoenix deare,- 
The pearlesse prince of. fenfie.f 

Enjoying peace abroad and tranquillity at home, Henry, in tlie 
year 1486, set out on a progress into the north, where he knew the 
people had been particularly attached to the house of York. In his 
route he visited the castle of Pontefract, where he remained a few 
days. He restored the ancient government of the county palatine and 
dutchy of Lancaster, and ordained that as heretofore it should be under 
the guidance of the chancellor and other officers of state ; and on the 1st 
of December, 1488, he confirmed the rights, pnvileges, and immunities 
contained in the charter of Richard HI. to the borough. 

In the year 1536, a formidable insurrection broke out in Yorkshire, 
and the northern counties, on account of the suppression of the smaller 
monasteries. Robert Aske, of Aughton,J a man of courage and pru- 
dence, was the first mover. of this rebellion, and styled it the Pilgnmage 
of Grace. The influence and persuasion of the clergy, especially the 
monks, friars, and nuns, who had been expelred from their abodes, 

* HoU. Chron. UOQ'.. 

t Holl. Chron. ii. 1829. 

t The family of the Askes, it is sdid", were the original lords of Kirkhy, in the time 
of the Saxons. The Askes were also lords of Marrick ; and one of the branch was sheriff 
ly Elizabeth. Christopher, his son, built the steeple of the church of Aughton, which 
is yet standing, and bears an inscription indicating the impression which the death of 
his father had made upon his mind. 

Christofor, le secound filz de Robait Aske, 
Chr, oblier ne doy anno domini 1536. 

• I ought not to forget Christopher, second son of sir Robert Aske, A.D. 1536;' or 
perhaps, • Christopher, second son of sir Robert Aske, ought not to be forgotten.' — 
Gough's-Camb. Brit, iii.310. Gent. Mag. 1754. 

Thi-> captain Robert Aske was ' of such terrour and haughty spirit, that when. 
Lancaster, an herald at arms, was sent to declare the king's message to him, he feUoa. 
his knees before him.' 



HISTORY OF iPONlEFRACt. \hO 

brought such influence on the ignorance, superstition, and compassion 
6f the people, that the forces of this martial pilgrimage amounted at 
least to 40,000 well disciplined troops, with captains, horses, armour, 
and artillery. Amongst them were the lord Lumley, sir Thomas 
Percy, sir William Percy, sir Stephen Hamilton, sir John Bulmer and 
his lady, sir Robert Constable, sir Francis Bigot, and sir Robert Ne- 
ville, linights, John L^sy, Richard Beamond, Nicholas Tempest, 
William Lumley and Robert Bowes, esquires ; the bailiffs of Snaith, of 
Leeds, of Kellam, and of Beverley.* To unite them more firmly they 
took an oath and made a declaration ' That they entered into this pil- 
grimage of grace, for the love of God, the presei-vation of the king's 
person and issue, the purifying of the nobility, and driving away all 
base born and evil counsellors, and for no particular profit of their own, 
-nor to do displeasure to any, nor to kill any for envy, but to take be- 
fore them the cross of Christ, his faith, the restitution of the church, 
and the suppression of heretics and their opinions. 'f 

They painted on their banners, on one, side Christ hanging on the 
cross, and on the other, a chalice with a cake in it ; the soldiers had their 
sleeves embroidered with the device of the five wounds of our Saviour, 
and in the midst thereof was written the name of our lord ; and in 
order to excite and inflame their zeal, priests preceded them bearing 
crucifixes.^ 

They encompassed the Castle of Pontefract, in which were Thos. 
lord D'Arcy, and Edward, lord Archbishop of York, and obliged 
them to surrender and take the above oath. When Lancaster, the 
herald at arms, was sent by the king with a proclamation to Aske, 
then in the castle, he found him sitting in state betvveen the arch- 
bishop and lord D'Arcy, and on the contents of the proclamation being 
made known, he would not sufi'er it to be publicly read. He gave his 
answer in so rude and boisterous a manner, ' that the daunted herald 
excusing himself/to be but a messenger, fell before him on his knees, 
till the archbishop tooke him vp, saieng, it was not beseeming the 
coate he wore, to prostrate to aniebut his sovereign.' H Aske surround- 
ed by his associates, amongst whom were one Ruaston, Jno. Diamond, 
of mean parentage, but general of the foot, and a poor fisherman, 
styled the earl of Poverty,§ afterwards made himself master of Hull 
and York, and obliged all the northern nobility to join his stand- 
ard, and on the 6th of December, 1536, the clergy that were with the 
rebels met at Pomfret, to draw up articles, which were lo be oftered to 

* Speede, 1018, 

t Burnet, i. 229. Henry's Hist, of Britain, xi, 299. 

t HoH.Chron.ii. 942. 

S Speede, 1019. ^ Idem, 1018, 



160 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACt, 

the treaty to be held at Doncaster. Accordingly a negociation wai 
entered iiito tfflh the insurgents and a general pardon granted to 
them.* At the king's command Aske came to court, where he was 
well received, but the archbishop not complying, was taken and sent 
to the tower, and being found guilty of joining the Lincolnshire in- 
suirection, was beheaded ; and the rebels in the north, not having yet 
subsided, Aske was commanded by Henry to be put to death, and was 
accordingly hung in chains in one of the towers in York. 

In the 33d. year of his reign, 1540, Henry made a progress into 
Yorkshire, and reaching Pontefract castle on the 27th of August, re- 
mained here until the 1st of September. He was met on Barnsdale by 
Edmund Lee, archbishop of York, and above 300 priests, who made 
their submission to him, and presented him with 600/. His queen was 
with him living in a dissolute manner with one sir Francis Diram and 
Thomas Culpepper, esq. one of the gentlemen of the king's privy 
chamber. AVlien the king had returned to the south, and was at 
Hampton court, he was informed of the incontinency of his queen 
Catherine, particularlj' of those amours with sir Thomas Culpepper, 
during his progress in the north, on the 29th of August, and the 1st of 
September, at Pontefract castle, and immediately ordered her unfortu- 
nate paramour to be beheaded.f 

At tlie dissolution of abbeys, one William Tindall, esq. of Brother- 
ton, raised a tumult in this borough. When the persons who were 
appointed by government to appraise the goods in St. Giles' church, 
had entered the church to discharge their office, W. Tindall, attended 
by a servant with a spade and mattock, went through the town and up 
to tlie market cross, and made the following ludicrous address, which 
at least indicates his spirit and attachment to the superstitions which 
had hitherto prevailed. ' If there be any person,' cried he, * that Jesus 
Christ is indebted to, let him come and make his claim, for Jesus 
Christ is dead, and I have brought my man to make his grave and bury 
him.' The appraisers came out of the church and asked what was the 
matter ? W. Tindall told them, * he was come to buiy the body of 
Christ. The appraisers were angry, and bade him take care what he 
said, but he replied, ' Surely Jesus Christ is dead. Was it ever heard 

* The demands agreed upon were as follow :— ' A general pardon to be granted ; a 
parliament to be held at York, and courts of justice to be there; that none on the 
north of Trent might be brought to London upon any law-suit. They desired a repeal 
of some acts of parliament ; those for the last subsidy, for uses, for ifiaking words mis- 
prision of treason, and for the clergy paying tenths and first fruits to the king. They 
desired that the princess Mary inight' be" restored to her right of succession; the 
Pope to his wonted jurisdiction, and the monks to their houses again; that the Luther- 
ans might be punished ; that Audley, the lord chancellor, and Cromwell, the lord privy 
seal, might be excluded from the next parliament; and Lee and Leighton, that had 
visited the monasteries, might be imprisoned for bribery and extortion.— Burnet's Hist, 
of the Reformation, i. 2.SI. 

t Holl. Chron.ii.954. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



161 



that goods were appraised before the owner is dead ? Ye are apprais- 
ing his goods, therefore I thought he was dead, and whfttmore likely.* 

At the battle of Solway Moss, in the year 1542, a small band of the 
English, consisting of 300 men, commanded by Thomas lord Whar- 
ton, routed the Scotch force, amounting to 15,000 men, under the 
command of lord Maxwell, and took the earls of Cassils and Glencairn, 
the lords Maxwell, Fleming, Somerville, Oliphant, Gray, and Oliver 
Sinclair, with about 200 gentlemen, 800 soldiers, and all their bag- 
gage and artillery. The prisoners were conducted to London, and 
after two days, were, according to custom, allowed liberty to be with 
the nobles of the land, who were bound for their safe custody until 
ransomed. According to the Talbot letters, the following persons 
were committed to the castle of Pontefract : — 

'The lairde of Makreth of 1001. land in the year, to sir Henry 
Saville, governor of Pontefract castle.' 

* The lord Carlishe, a man of 300 marks and more, but hatli littte 
in his own hands, being withheld from it by rehels ; himself remaynith 
in Pontefract castle under sir H. Saville.' 

' The lairde Johnstone, a gentleman of 100 marks per ann. ; for 
whom the king's majesty hath paid an 100 marks in part of payment 
to his taker, for his ransom, and himself remainith in Pontefract 
castle.' 

* Lairde of Grutney and Newbye, between them of 4t) marlcs or 
more, their pledges their brother, with sir H. Saville, for 122 marks.'-f* 

In the year 1545, lord Maxwell was a prisoner in this castle, con- 
cerning whom the following letter from Henry VUL was sent to the 
then governor : — 

BY THE KING. 

'Trusty and well beloved, we greet you well; and, for ceitaiB 
causes and considerations, us and our council specially mo\dng, we 
will, and straitly charge, and command you, that ye, with all possible 
diligence, do send the Lord Maxwell to our town of Newcastle-upon 
Tyne, in safe and sure custody, so that he may be here with our trusty 
and well-beloved counsellor, the earl of Hartford, our lieutenant-gene- 
ral in these north parts, on Friday or Saturday next at the farthest ; 
and these letters shall be unto you a sufficient warrant in that behalf, 
and to the intent that ye may the more surely accomplish our plea- 
sure herein according to our expectations, we do send unto you herein 
inclosed a commission for taking post horses by the way, as the need 
shall require. Not failing hereof, as ye tender our pleasure, and will 

* Wilson's MS. 

t Lodge's illust. of Brit, history. 



162 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

answer the contrary at our utmost jeopardy and peril. — Given under 
our signet, at our town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the 22d day of Sep- 
tember, at eleven of the clock before noon, of the 38th year of our 
rei^n. 

To our trusty and right well beloved counsellor, Sir Henry Savil, 

Knight, Steward of our Honour of Pontefract, and Constable 

of our Castle tliere ; and in his absence, to his Deputy or 

Deputies there j in haste, post haste — for life, for life, 

for LIFE. Delivered to the Post, the day and year aforesaid.' 

During the reign of Edward VI. nothing of any particular moment 

seems to have taken place at Pontefract On his accession to the 

throne of England, an inventory was taken, of all the royal stores and 

and habiliments of war, in the different arsenals of England ; and by 

a manuscript in the possession of the society of antiquaries, it appears, 

that in Pontefract castle, there were eight bundles of archers' stakes. 

la the year 1549, the plague raged in the town, and numbers of 
unfortunate beings fell victims to its destructive ravages. 

King James the 6th. of Scotland, having succeeded to the throne 
of England, on the death of queen Elizabeth, ("which happened on 
the 24th of March, 1603,) in right of his being a lineal descendant of 
Margaret, the eldest daughter of the late king Henry the VII. set out 
from Edinbure^h, on the 5th of April, and reached Pontefract on the 
19th. when, having viewed the castle, he proceeded to Doncaster.* 
After his departure from Pontefract, a grievous pestilence prevailed, 
in the boroiigh, which carried off great numbers. 

James granted the castle and honour of Pontefract to the queen, 
as part of her jointure 5 and power was then given in this grant to 
make leases of her majesty'^ lands for twenty one years, reserving the 
old rents-t 

In 1617, James proceeded to Scotland, in order to compel the 
clergy to act in conformity with the English church, they having re- 
jected his articles previously sent, by a general assembly. In this 
progress, he again honored the castle of Pontefract with his presence ; 
he visited the lately established college of St. Clement, within it, 
which had been finished in his reign. 

in 1625, Charles I. visited Pontefract on his return from Scotland. 
He created sir John Saville, knight, one of his privy counsellors, high 
steward of the honour of Pontefract, and by letters patent, dated 24th. 
July, in the fourth! year of his reign, advanced him to the dignity of 

* Gent's Historia Compendiosa Romana, ii. appx. 30. 
t Lodge's Illustrations. 
2 Mag. Brit. 391. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 163 

a baron of the realm, by the title of lord Saville, baron of Pontefract.* 
Thomas, his son and heir proved so polite a «ourtier, that he was 
created earl of Sussex, and nominated to succeed the unfortunate earl 
of Strafford, as lord president of the north jf and the family became 
extinct in his grandson James, as is stated in Howley. The family of 
Savilles in their flourishing condition, was esteemed inferior to none 
in Yorkshire, and to very few in England.^ 

* Camden owns himself grateful for the great assistance of Sir John Saville, baron 
of Pontefract, in composing his Britannica. — The seat of this family was at Methley, a 
village so called from its being situated between the rivers Calder and Aire. Sir John 
Saville was by special favor of James I. made justice of assize in his own counti-y. — Mag. 
Brit. V. 6. p. .363. His constant attendance at court, exempted him so much from the 
care of the corporation of Leeds, of which he was an alderman, that he was obliged to 
execute that office mostly by his deputy, John Harrison, Esq. Mag. Brit. v. 6. p. 407. 
He died in the year 1630, at his seat in Pontefract. (Gent's. Historia Compendiosa 
Romana, v. 2. p. Si.) 

t Gent's. Hist. Comp. Rom, v, 2. p. 81. 

t Mag. Brit, vi, 397. 



y€^4 HISTiMlY OF PONTEFRAeT, 



SECTION IV. 

XHE fortress of Pbntefi-act, so greatly celebrated in feudal ages, had 
gradually suak into neglect, as a different form of government snapt 
the galling chains of tyranny and oppression j and justice soared tri- 
amphant over anarchy and despotism. 

But on Charles I. ascending the English throne, the slumbers of 
tranquillity which sealed the lips af all, seemed doubtful and wavering. 
Cromwell appeared very forward in censuring what were styled abuses 
in church and state ; and became a strenuous and zealous advocate for 
the remonstrance -drawn up by the house of commons, and presented 
to Charles, at a time when he was surrounded by the splendid retinue 
and equipage of a court at Hampton. This affair clouded his little 
prospect of happiness, and formed in reality the basis of the civil wars. 

The intestine broils rapidly increased, until about the midsummer 
of 1642, when the royal cause appeared to be, in a great measure, de- 
serted, and Charles's affairs seemed to be at the lowest ebb. At this 
period, he possessed in the western parts, only the city of York, and 
castle of Pontefract ; andj except at Reading, Wallingford, and Abing- 
ton, had not a soldier in his service quartered out of Oxford ; nor had 
he a single ship, except in the ports of Newcastle, and Falmouth ; and 
the whole of his forces, as the parliament itself published, did not ex- 
ceed 10,000. In the year 1643, his army was, however, greatly in- 
creased, and his courageous friends became more fortunate. He had 
now five armies embodied, and his arms proved so victorious, that he 
was in possession of all the western country, and garrisons therein, 
except Plymouth, Lynn, and Poole, and was master of all Yorkshire, 
except the port and garrison of Hull. 

Thus did the tide of harassing warfare flow unabatedly on, \'ictoryi 
smiling alternately on the prowess of each party, until the memorable 
and bloody battle of Marston Moor, (July 3, 1 644,) was fought, in which 
the royalists sustained a complete overthrow. Rupert fled from the j 
field of battle, which %vas stained with the blood of not less than 8,000 j 
warriors, whilst the parliamentarian generals made captive sir Charles j 
Lucas, colonel Porter, colonel Tiliard, and many other noblemen. 

The eail of Manchester, lord Fairfax, and general Leslie, then* 
encamped again before the city of York, and remaining there for 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 165 

twelve days, without coming to any agreement with the besieged, 
they sent to sir John Glenham, tlie governor, their resolve to take it 
by storm. Sir John knowing that he had now only 1,000 able soldiers 
to guard the whole of the city, and the ammunition and provisions 
beginning to be scarce, sent a trumpeter out, late on the night of the 
15th, for a parley, which was honourably granted. Articles of capitu- 
lation were then agreed upon, and on the following day, his squadrons 
marched out of the city under convoy, to Skipton, ' with flying colours, 
drums beating, matches lighted, bullets in mouth, with bag and bag- 
gage.' 

The surrender of York was speedily followed by the fall of every 
fortress in the king's possession. The parliamentarians under Fairfax 
beleaguered Knaresbrough and Helmsley castles, and detachments of 
horse, under the command of colonel Sandys, marched towards the 
castle of Pontefract, in order to watch the motions of the royalists, 
and intercept all reinforcements. 

The nobility in the neighbourhood of Pontefract, granted various 
sums of money, for the necessities of the royal cause ; and enlisted 
men, supporting them at their own cost and expense. The names of 
those gallant officers who so gloriously fought and bled in the royal 
cause, are handed down to us, in a MSB. by the Rev. Samuel Drake.* 

' A true list of the manner of our watches, undertaken by the kriights, gentlemen, 
and volunteers, in the first seige, with the names of them as they were enlisted in their 
squadrons and divisions. 

The standing officers of the garrison were colonel Lowther,t the 
governor, advised by the pains of his brother, Mr. Robert Lowther. 

* This Rev. gentleman was rector of Hemsworth, vicar of Pontefract, prebendary 
of York, and of Southwell, in Nottinghamshire ; and was created D.D. by royal man- 
date of Charles I. for his loyalty and bravery during the siege of Ponteiract. He was 
born in the year 1623, and died in the year 1679. 

t The family of the Lowthers, have for many ages had their residence at Lowther 
hall, in Westmoreland. They have made a great figure in this country for many gene- 
rations ; and several of them have borne offices of state. Sir Hugh Lowther, knight, 
was attorney -general to Edward I. — another sir Hugh Lowther, knight, was one of the 
justices of the king;'s bench, 5 Edward IIL Sir John Lowther was sheriff of Cumber- 
land, 26, 27, and 2S Edward IIL Hugh Lowther, esq. was knight of the shire for West- 
moreland, 1433, and 46 Edward IIL John Fitz Hugh de Lowther, was also knight of 
the shire 50 Edward ITL and 2 Richard IL Sir Hugh de Lowther was made knighl of 
the Bath, at the marriage of prince Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII. Sir Richard Low- 
ther was sheriff of Cumberland, and lord warden of the west marches. Sir Christopher 
Lowther, knight was one of the judges of the court at York, and his son John was creat- 
ed a baronet by king Charles I. His elder son, sir John Lowther, was vice-chamberlain 
of king William's household ; as also one of his privy council, keeper of the privy seal 
and one of the lords justices in the king's absence, and he was also advanced to the 
honour of baron Lowther and viscount Lonsdale. His younger son, sir William Low- 
ther, of Leeds and Swillington, was governor of the princely fortress of Pontefract. 
This sir William Lowther married Jane, daughter of William Busfield, of Leeds, mer- 
chant. He was one of the council of the north. Hepurchased the Swillington estates of 
Conyers Darcy, earl of Holderness, which have continued in the family, and are now 
the property of lord Lowther. He died February, 1689, aged 80, and left issue William 
and Richard, Sir William Lowther married Catherine, daughter of Thomas Harrison, 
of Dancer's hill, in Hertfordshire, by his wife Catherine, daughter of sir John Bland, of 
Kippax park. This sir William Lowther was sheriff of this county In the year 1681, 



166 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Lieutenant colonel VVheatle)', lieutenant colonel Middleton,* major 
Dinnis, captains Cartwright, Munroe, Gerard Lowther, son of the 
governor, and caj)tain of horse, as was also captain Musgrave, but 
these have now turned foot, and are commanded by Mr. Lowther. 

The gentlemen volunteers were inlisted into four divisions : the 
first commanded by colonel Grey, the second by sir Richard Hutton, 
the third by sir John Ramsden, and the fourth by sir G. Wentworth, 
who had in their divisions the following gentlemen : — 

First. — Colonel Grey's division. 

Colonel Grey, brother to lord Lieutenant colonel D'Arcey, son fo 

Grey of Warke.f lord D'Arcey, of Hornby. J 

Sir Edward Radcliflfe, Bart.|| 

* The original seat of the family of Middleton, was at Middleton in Wharfdale. 
The family is very ancient, and was descended from Hippolitus de Brame, lord of Mid- 
dleton, who lived in the reign of Henry TI. Robert de Brame had issue, sir Peter, who 
was the first of the fainily, that assumed the name of Middleton. He had issue sir Adam, 
whose son Peter, was sheriff of the county of York, in the year 1334, Sir William Mid- 
dleton removed to Stockeld, near Wetherby, in the reign of Henry V. He was high 
sheriff in 1526. From him descended William, who was a lieutenant of a regiment of 
horse, and among others, threw himself into our castle, and %v-ith his brave colleagties 
nobly defended it. Attachment to the same cause united this family to that of sir 
Marmaduke Langdale. Peter Middleton, the son of the colonel, married the daughter 
of Marmaduke Langdale, esq. son and heir of lord Langdale. 

f The Greys are descended from the noble and ancient family of Chillingham, <n 
com. Northumberland. William Grey, of Chillingham, esq. for his personal merits, and 
the good services his predecessors had rendered to the crown, v.as advanced to the de- 
gree of baronet, (17 -Jac.) 1.5th June, 1619, and afterwards (21 Jac.) on the 11th February 
to the honour of baron, by t!ie title of lord Grey, of Warke. He espoused the cause of 
Charles with ardor, and his son followed the example. He married .'\nne, tiie daughter 
and coheiress to sir John V/entworth, of Gorfield, in Essex, baronet, by whom he had 
several sons, of whom Ralph only survived him. This Ralph married Catherine, daugh- 
ter of sir Edv.-ard Ford, of Hartlong, in Sussex, knight, and widow of Alexander Cole- 
pepper; by whom he had issue Ford, who married Mary, daughter of George, lord 
Berkley. Ford, lord Grey, was by king William created earl of Tankervrlle, an "honour 
which had been previously conferred on a branch of the family ; for one John Grey was 
by Henry V. created earl of Tankerville, and one of the lords commissioners of the trea- 
sury, whilst his brother, Ralph Grey, was governor of Barbadoes. 

J The very ancient and honourable family of the D'Arcys, or De Arecis came into 
England with the Conqueror. Norman D'Arcy had 83 lordships in Lincolnshire of the 
immediate gift of the king. 

John lord D'Arcy being constable of the tower, 11 Edward IIL. and in great favour 
with the king, obtained a royal grant of part of the inheritance of the knights tem- 
plars, to himself and his heirs male. In the ISth Edward III. he also obtained a grant 
of a charter of free warren for his lordship of Temple Newsome, and left it so privileged 
to his son and heir, John lord D'Arcy. He was summoned to parliament with the 
barons, and died sei:ied of this lordship,"30 Edward III. Thomas lord D'Arcy was sene- 
schall of the castle of Pontefract, in the reign of Henry YIII. but being engaged in the 
insurrection called the Pilgrimage of Grace, was beheaded for his treason in the 35 
Henry VIII. 1.544, and his estates were forfeited. George lord D'Arcy, his son and heir, 
being reinstated in the possessions of his ancestors, married Dorothy, daughter of sir 
John Melton, of Auslon, and dying was succeeded in his estates by his son, John lord 
D'Arcy, who died without heirs in the year 1635, and sir Coniers D'Arcy petitioning to 
be restored to the dignity and title ot lord D'Arcy and Meinville, in 1&40, obtained it 
from king Charles I. and had summons to parliament accordingly. He, by Dorothy his 
wife, daughter of sir Henry Bellasise, had six sons and seven daughters'. Coniers his 
son and heir, from the command he enjoyed, appears to have been animated with the 
same spirit of loyalty to his king, as his father. This Coniers was created earl of Holder- 
ness, by king Charles II. in the year 16S2. Different branches of this family settled in 
the covmty of York, and hare from time to time filled the highest posts in the kingdom, 
as justices of Ireland, stewards of the king's hovisehold, ambassadors to divers kings, 
&c. all T.'hich trusts they discharged with honour and reputation. 

U The family of R'adcliffe was settled at Threshfield, in Craven. Ralph Radcliffe, 
esq. was made high constable of the Wapentake of Staincliffe, the thirty-second of 
Elizabeth He left the estates to his son and heir, Charles, who was clerk of the peace 
in the West-Riding, and associate before the judges in the northern circuit. He left 
issue, Edward, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Hesketh, of Heslingtoa» 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 167 

Sir Francis RadclifFe, Capt. Robt. Poi tington,t 

Lieut, col. Roger Portington,* Grimstone,t 

Major Huddleston, Vavasour, [J 

Capt. Huddleston, Croft, pa. 

Capt. Wheatley, 

Fumsdale, 1 Hoult, 

Seaton, /Scots. ^^yle, pa. 

Wheatley, Mr. John Thimbleby, 

Smith, Mr. Charles Clarkson, 

Tathum, Mr. Takefield, 

Percy, Mr. Haramerton§, pa. 

near York. It is probable this Edward was advanced to the degree of baronet, by 
Charles; as the sale of titles was one method he adopted to obtain money from his 
subjects. It was probably the son of this Edward who volunteered in the defence of 
this castle. 

* Portington of Barnby Dunn, an ancient and respectable family. Roger Por- 
tington was justice of the peace, and suffered much in the royal cause. He was fined 
in the time of Oliver, the sum of one thousand eight himdred and ninety pounds for 
his delinquency. He enjoyed the rank of colonel, and shared in the duties of the brave 
defenders of this castle. He was interred in the church of Barnby Dunn : and a monu- 
ment still remains, recording his virtue, his sufferings, and his hopes. 

t Robert Portington was brother to Roger, and resided at Arksey. He was major 
in sir William Saville's regiment of horse, and distinguished himself by his courage as 
an officer. After the war was over he returned to Arksey, and lived some time in re- 
tirement; but after Oliver became protector, he was taken prisoner, and sent to Hull, 
where he remained till the restoration. Being set at liberty, in crossing the Humber 
he was bit by a monkey, and not regarding the wound, it gangrened and carried him 
to the grave. In Arksey church, on a stone, near the altar, is the following inscrip- 
tion : 

Hie sepultus Robertus Portington, Strategus, miles insignis, Principi q. fidelis j 
ebiit 23 die Decembris, A. D. 1660. 

t The family of the Grimstones long flourished at Grimston-Garth, in Yorkshire. 
Sir Harbottle Grimstone was a person of singular prudence, moderation, and abilities, 
for although he was employed by the parliament, in their last treaty with king Charles, 
I, in which the differences between them had been fully accommodated, and the nation 
settled in peace, had not the army taken the cause in hand, to the utter destruction of 
king and government; yet, when king Charles II. was restored, he was chosen the 
speaker of that loyal house of commons, who settled the monarchy and constitution as 
it now continues. His son, sir Samuel Grimstone, died without male issue, and his 
daughter being married to the earl of Halifax, he settled his estate chiefly upon his sis- 
ter's son, lord viscount Grimstone, 

II The famous and very ancient family of the Vavasours of Haslewood derives its 
•origin and name from the office they discharged in tlie courts of the king's Valvasors. 
Qui ex munere (Regii enim dim Valvasores erant) hoc assumpserunt. Of this family 
was William Vavasour, a great man in the time of Edward I. He obtained a license of 
that prince (Reg. 18) to make a castle of his manor house at Haslewood, and having 
served the king in divers expeditions into Gascoigne and Scotland, was from 28 Edward 
I. to 6 Edward II. summoned to parliament among the barons. Several of the family 
have been distinguished as valiant commanders. The Percies and Vavasours contri- 
buted greatly to the magnificence of York Cathedral, after it was so much injured by 
the conflagration in Stephens' reign. Sir Walter Vavasour was born in the year 1613. 
He raised a regiment of horse, and supported them at his own expense. Thomas Vava- 
sour, of Haslewood, was created knight, 24th October, 1628. Branches of the family of 
Vavasours resided at Melbourne, in the East-Riding, and at Weston, near Otley. — 
Vavasour, of Weston, married the widow of Edward Saville, esq. the second son of Jolin 
lord Saville, baron of Pontefract, and it is probable that one of these was the captain 
noticed as a volunteer in the castle. 

Another branch of this family settled at Fryston, near this place. In the compu- 
tus of the honor of Pontefract, p. 19. it is said William Vavasour paid five pounds to 
the honor for one knights-fee, in Fryston, after the death of his brother Henry, the 
thirty-second of Edward III. 1357. In the seventh of Henry IV. sir H. Vavasour paid 
ten pounds relief for two knights-fees, at Water -Fryston. In the reign of Henry V. 
they found the stone, wherewith the church of Allh"^aHows, at Berwick in Elmet was 
i)uilt. 

** pa affixed to the name implies, that the family were papists. 

\ The family of Hammerton resided at Purston Jaglin. The old hall fronting the 
public road was their seat. Attached to the superstition of their fathers, they con- 



168 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

*, Mr. Stapylton.f pa. 

Mr. Anne, J pa. Mr. Higford, 

Mr. Cuthbut Medcaulph,l| Mr. Wilkes, 

Mr. John Medcaulph, Mr. Burton, 

Mr. Abbott, Mr. Hey, 

Cornet Spurgion, Mr. Mast. French, 

Harrington, Clergy to this Division 

Ensign Hearbert, Mr. Kay,^ 

Mr. Stables, Alderman,§ Mr. Oley, 

Mr. Smith, do. Mr. Buchanan, Scotus, 

Mr. Taytam, do. In all forty-eight. 

Second. — Sir Richard Hutton's Division. 

Sir Richard Hutton,** High Sheriff of Yorkshire, 

tinued in the catholic church. It is most probable the person here noticed, was one of 
this family; and the other under sir G. "NVentworth's division, his brother. A branch 
of the family lived at Caldcoates, in Yorkshire. 

* The original MSS. being imperfect where the dotted lines are, the names cannot 
be made out. 

t The family of Stapylton, or Stappleton is verj^ ancient, and their original resi- 
dence -was at Wighill, a village on tlie river Wharf. Sir Robert Stapylton was born 
at Carleton, and having turned protestant, was made one of the gentlemen in ordinary 
to prince Charles, (afterv.ards Charles, 11.) He attended king Charles 1. when he left 
London, by reason of the tumxilts, and was knighted in 1642. He was with the king at 
Edgehill battle, and accompanied him to Oxford, where he was created Doctor of Civil 
Law. He suffered greatly in the cause of royalty, until the restoration, when he was 
■ttiade a gentleman usher of the privy chamber, in which place he continvied until his 
death, which happened in 1669. A branch of the family unquestionably resided at 
Stapleton, near this town, and either gave their name to, or received it from, that of 
the place. Brian Stapleton is mentioned under sir G. Wentworth's division,a name 
still continned in the family. 

t This is an ancient catholic family ; and branches of it have settled at Frickley, 
Bolton, and Burghwallis. Philip Anne took a decided part with Charles, and contri- 
buted two hundred pounds to the support of the common cause. 

]J The family of the Medcaulphs resided atBaintbrig, a small hamlet on the river 
Ure, in the North-Riding of Yorkshire. 

§ The loyalty of the corporation of this borough, was strongly displayed by its 
members. Kine aldermen with the mayor, ten out of thirteen, of which number it 
consists, left their houses, and volunteered their service in the castle. Many of them 
became great sufferers ; as their houses were seized by the troops of the parliament, and 
suffered most during the siege. 

% Mr. Kay was rector of Rothwell. — He was a person exceeded by none, for learn- 
ing, loyalty, and piety ; and was so eminent for preaching, that when king Charles 
came to York, he was appointed by the archbishop, out of all the clergy about him, to 
preach before the sovereign of England. But he was guilty of the crimes of loyalty and 
conformity, (as the then prevailing party thought them) that, he was persecuted in 
the greatest degree. He was sequestered and plundered, so long as he had a stool to sit 
on, and his family turned into the wide world. He was persecuted with so great severity, 
that he miist have perished, had not sir John Worsnam, of Nostal, taken pity on him, 
and maintained him so long as he lived. At Nostal he lived in privacy, and oft retired 
for contemplation, to a private walk in sir John's garden, which for a long time after- 
wards, bore the name of Kay's walk. He preached at Nostal church, until he was 
pulled out by the parliamentarians. He died before the restoration. 

** The original seat of this family, is Hutton in Cumberland, from which it derived 
its name. A branch of it settled at Goldsborough, near Wetherby. Sir Richard Hutton 
was sergeant at law, and one of the justices of the common pleas. He was a man of 
great legal knowledge; and was justly honored for his uprightness and integritj^ — 
King Ch~arles used to call him the honest judge. His son and heir sir R. Hutton, in the 
beginning of the war, along with some other gentlemen, seized and garrisoned Knares- 
bro' castle, of which he was made governor. He did not long retain this post, but 
either resigned or was superseded by some other person, as we find him amonpt the 
garrison of York, which surrendered to the forces of the parliament, Aug. l(f, 1644. 
Sir Richard Hutton must have departed with the honors of war, as he entered our castle 
immediately, and obtained command of the second division of the garrison. He sur- 
vived the siege, and afterwards joined the king. In the battle of Sherburn, where lord 
Digby and others were taken prisoners, he losthis life. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



169 



Capt. Constable,* 

Musgrave,i- 

Standeven, 

Fairburn, 

Croft, 

Lieutenant Smith, 

— Antiobus, 

Cornet Naylor, 

*— Bamford, of Methley, 

Matthewman, 

Mr. Grovener, 

Mr. Atkinson, 
Mr. Preston, 
Mr. Jonstone, 
Mr. Massey, 
Mr. Maddock, 
John Harlam, 
Robert Moore, 
Thomas Senior, 
Mr. Binnes, 
Mr. Wilson, 
Thomas Monke, 
Thomas Poole, 



Mr. Toyton, 
George Wentworth, 
James Ellison, 
John Longwith, 
Steven Grammenden, 
James Kendrick, 
M. Burchill, 
M. Hopgood, 
Matthew Sutton, 
Robert Halyfax, 
Robert Burton, 
William Watson, 
Thomas Walker, t 
Edward Gawthorpe, 
John Harlam, 
Sergeant Feather, 
John Erley, 
Walter Steele, 

Clergy to this Division. 
Mr. George Buchanan, || 
Mr. Manknol, chaplain to 

Sir R. Hutton. 



* Constable of Flamborough, was descended from Fitz Eustace Constable, of Ches- 
ter ; and of course sprung from the stock, and was connected with the Lacies of Pon- 
tefract. Sir Robert Constable, in the reign of Henry VIII. was concerned in the rebel- 
lion, called the pilgrimage of grace. For this he was pardoned, but engaging in another 
commotion, he was beheaded at Hull, and his body hung in chains, June, 1537. His 
son, sir Wm. Constable, was, however, admitted to favour, and advanced to the degree 
of Baronet, May 22, 1611. He remembered the deatii of his father ; and in the reign of 
Charles, distinguished himself by his enmity to the royal cause. He adhered to Crom- 
well, and was one of those who signed the warrant for the king's execution. 

A branch of this family settled at Everingham, in the East Riding of this county. 
Philip Constable, of Everingham, married into the family of Langdale^ and warmly 
espoused the royal cause. He was the Capt. Constable who entered this castle. In 
many instances, we find persons of the same family engaged against each other, and 
the ties of blood and kindred forgotten through the influence of political animosity and 
rancour. He was knighted, 20th July, 1642. 

t The warlike family of the Musgraves had their seats at Heartlejr Castle, and 
Harckla Castle, in Westmoreland ; and Musgrave Castle, near Dunesley, in the North 
Riding of Yorkshire, and were men of great renown. Thomas Musgrave commanded 
the van of the English army, when David Bruce, king of Scotland,, invaded the English 
realm. He sat in parliament from 24 to 43 Edward III. and his descendants retained 
their grandeur. Thomas Musgrave was one of the knights of the shire, 1 Henry IV, 
and in the reign of king Philip, and (fueen Mary. Sir Richard Musgrave was so con- 
siderable for honour and wealth, that Thomas, lord Wharton married his daughter 
Anne. He assisted this lord Wharton in a pitched battle, at Carlisle, against an army 
of 15,000 Scots, which they worsted. He was created a baronet 22nd May, 1611. Sir 
Philip Musgrave was a person of signal bravery and loyalty to king Charles I. In his. 
troubles, and suffered greatly for his cause. 

t The family of the Walkers is of very ancient origin. Their residence was at 
Gowthorpe hall, near Bingley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and they were lords 
of Gowthorpe two or three hundred years. Mr. John Walker lost his life in the service 
of Charles'I. and it is very probable, that the one mentioned above was a voUmteer ia 
the defence of this fortress, was a branch of this family. 

II Mr. George Buchanan was a Scotchman, and minister of Kirkby Lonsdale. He 
warmly advocated th.e cause of royalty, and suffered greatly from the persecutions sJ 



170 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Third. — Sir John Ramsdeji's Division. 

Sir J. Ranisden, Bart * Lieut. Col. Leonard Tindall,J 

Sir Jarvis Cutler,t Major Warde,|l 

Major Wentworth, Mr. John Percy ,^ 

Capt. Pilkington,§ ^ Mr. Percy, his son, 

Morrett, ' Mr. VV. TindaU,** 

Horsfall, of Stonehall, Mr. Jackson, 

Swillavant, Mr. Heiser, 

Standeven, Mr. Hodgson,tf 

— — Clough, Mr. Clarkson, 

F. Beale, Mr. Geo. TindaU, 

— - Shaw, Mr. Foster, 

Cornet Harrington, Mr. Hitchen, 

Robert Nunnes, Mr. Jarvis Shillito, Mayor. 

Mr. T. Wilkinson, Aldermany 



two of his parishioners, who were captains of parliament. They not only got him se- 
questered, but imsQured several times in Lancaster gaol, in- whicii he sniftered nearly 
three years imprisonment. Being at length released, he fled into Yorkshire, and was 
patronized by the noble family of the Wentworths, from whom he obtained the vicar- 
age of Royston, of about 20L per annum value. Here he lived securely and comfortably, 
with some contributions of such loyalists, who came to join in the church service with 
him, to the restoration, when he was repossessed of his living of Lonsdale. Yet he re- 
tained this but a w,hile, for being made prebendary of Carlisle, he removed to that city, 
and exchanged it for a-living near it. He died in 1665, universally lamented by the citi- 
zens. One of the captains who persecuted him, died in gaol jand whilst he was there, 
was relieved by one of Mr. Buchanan's sons, and the captain's son afterwards, by one 
of his grandsons. ,, , ™ , 

* Sir John Ramsden.of Longley, near Huddersfield. This is the original seat of 
this ancient and respectable family. A branch of it resided at Lasscel Hall, near Kirk- 
Heaton ; and the ancient seat vras forsaken for the more agreeable one of Byram.— 
This family has intermarried with the Savilles and Lowthers. Sir John Ramsden, the 
son of William of Longley, married first, Margaret, the daughter of sir Peter Fretc-hvill, 
ofStovelv, in Lancashire, and had issue William and John. To his second wife, he 
married Anne, widow of alderman Pool, of London, This sir John was sheriff of this 
county in the beginning of the civil wars, and engaged in the royal cause ; and after 
the surrender of the castle of Pontefract, at the close of the second siege, he entered 
into that of ^■ewark, where he died. The estates and name of this respectable family 
have descended to the present baronet. Sir J. Ramsden, of Byram. 

t Sir Jarvis Cutler resided at Stainbrough, near Barnsley. He fell a sacrifice to 
his zeal in the cause, and died in the castle. , ^ 

t The family of TindaU resided at Brotherton. The colonel was the second son of 
W^illiam TindaU, esq. who excited some disturbance in our borough, as was noticed in 
^he time of Henry Vill. He was zealously attached to the king, and gave 3WL at the 
meeting at York, to support the war. He outlived his royal master, and m the time of 
Oliver, paid 340/. for his composition. • . , .. t, 

II Wade, (or Warde) of New Grange, near Leeds, an ancient and respectable 
family. BenVamin Wade rebuilt the family seat of New Grange ; gave 200/ forever, 
towards the maintenance of a curate, for the chapel at Hedingley ; and the ground . 
whereon the chapel was erected, was given by the famous sir John Saville, and his son 
Thomas Beniamin Wade was so warm in the royal cause, that he considerably involv- 
ed his estate to support it. He sold an estate of bm. per annum, and spent not less 
than ten thousand pounds in the service of Charles. Was this the major in our siege > 

k Pilkington, of Pilkington, in the county of Lancaster. One of this family pur- 
chased Stanley, near Wakefield ; and a branch of this family has resided there ever 
si^^e. It is probable this Captain Pilkington was a younger son of sir Lionel Pilkmg, 
ton, of Stanley. „ ,, ,,t,j 

fl Mr. Percy resided at Stubbs W alden. _,„,-„,, .^ j 

** Mr. William TindaU was brother to Francis TindaU, of Brotherton, esq.; and 
Mr. George TindaU, was the son of the latter gentleman. ^ , , j •„ 

^'^'^- "Jr, '.^j^g family of the Hodgsons resided at Cottingley, or Gotland, a woody village 
in the wapentake of Skirack, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. , b-j„„ „f ♦!,:. 

It The Saviles is a very ancient and eminent family, in the West Riding of this 
county. The Savilles of Bradley Hall, near Halifax, have married with the best York- 



KlSTOilY OF PONTKFRACT. i?'^ 

Lieut. Fleming, Mr. Gascoigne, 

Mr. Burton, Mr. J. Wilkinson, Alderman 

Mr. Bamforth, Mr. J. Lunn, Alderman, 

Mr. Curwinn, William Strickland,* 

Mr. Warwick, Nathan Drake,t 

Mr. Stringer, of Sharleston, Peter Heaton, 
Daniel M orritt. Clergy to this^ Division. 

Steven Standeven,t Mr. Pickering,§ 

John Shillito,ll Mr. Hirst,1[ 

John Oxley, Mr. Corker, 

Mr. Sykes. 

ehlre families ; and the eldest branch of this family has long resided at Methley, and 
was advanced to the honour of the peerage. At Bradley Hall, was born in 1649, sir 
Henry Saville, a man of considerable abilities and extensive learning. His works are 
uncommonly numerous, and he left behind him several MSS. some of which are de- 
posited in the Bodleian Library. Howley Hall was for several generations the magnifi- 
cent seat of a branch of the Savilles. Sir John SaviUe was a baron of the exchequer, to 
whose learning Mr. Camden owned himself indebted for his assistance, in composing 
his Britannia. He possessed the votive altar, which was sacred to the tutelar ^od of 
the city of the Brigantes, and which was found at Greetland, in this county. He was 
knight of the shire of York, in the reigns of James I. and Charles I. in divers parlia- 
ments ; and, was at length, by letters patent, dated 24th. July, 4. Car. 1.. created, a 
baron, by the title of lord Saville of Pontefract, and one of the king's privy council. 
He died in 1680, and his son, the first earl of Sussex ofthatniime, finished Howl(?y 
Hall, which was commenced by his father. Camden, who saw this structure when 
new, called it ^das elegantissimas. Tradition reports, that Kubens visited lord 
.Saville, and painted for him a view of Pontefract. Howley was held for the king in 
1643, and was stormed and plundered by the parliament army. It is not certain whether 
Lieutenant Saville, mentioned in the list, belonged to the Savilles of Methley, or some 
other family of that name. In Watson's pedigree of the Savilles of Hullenedge, near 
Eland, there is noticed a Gabriel Saville, who was captain of foot, under king Charles, 
and who married the daughter and coheiress of Captain Ralph Rokeby, of Skier.s, 
n«ar Rotherham. Perhaps he was the person who volunteered in the defence of the 
castle of Pontefract. 

* In the family of the Stricklands, thetre appear to have been several persons of 
considerable eminence; and their re&idence seems originally to have been at Strickland 
Hall, in Westmoreland. 

t Captain N. Dral5« composed a journal of the whole siege, from whose MSS. the 
particulars were extracted by Dr. N. Johnson, a physician of Pontefract, and antiquarian. 
The original seat of the Drakes was Shibden Hall, near Halifax; and the family is said 
■to come out of Devonshire, where a family of this name had long been settled, and of 
'which the famous sir Francis Drake, whose naval achievements have rendered his nanje 
illustrious, was a branch. The pedigree is traced from the time of Edward I. in Wat- 
son's Halifax, down to Thomas, who lived in the time of Henry VIII. who had issue 
William, Gilbert, Humphry, and Isabella. William had issue, four sons and foyr 
daughters, of whom the second was Nathan, who lived at Godley. The part he took in 
the civil war exposed him to the resentment of Cromwell, who deprived him of his 
estate at Godley. Nathan had issue, Samuel, who was bred up to the church, but w^s 
expelled from his fellowship in St. John's Cambridge ; and afterwards served the king at 
the siege of Newark. After the restoration, this Samuel was admitted to the degree of 
D.D. was made rector of Hemsworth, and vicar of Pontefract. He wrote the life of his 

tutor and friend, Mr. Cleveland. He married daughter of Mr. Abbot. His 

eldest son Francis, was M.A. and succeeded him in the vicarage of Pontefract. He 

married to his first wife, Hannah, daughter of Paylln, of York, merchant, by 

whom he he had John, B.D. prebendary of York, and who succeeded his father as 
vicar of Pontefract. The above Francis to his second wife married Elizabeth, the 
daughter of John Dixon, of Pontefract, by whom he had Francis, a fellow of the Royal 
Society, author of the history of York, the parliamentary history of England, down to 
the restoration ; and also of several tracts in the philosophical transactions. He marri- 

•ed Mary, daughter of Woodyear, of Crookhill, near Doncaster, t^ whom he had 

a son Francis, who was vicar of Womersley, lecturer of Pontefract, and fellow of Mag- 
dalene College, Oxford. This Francis married a daugluer of Joshua Wilson, esq. of 
• Pontefract, by whom he had the Rev. Francis Drake. 

t Steven Standeven afterwards became the mace-bearer of Pontefract. 

II John Shillito was son to major Jarvis Shillito. 

% Mr. Pickering was parson of Ackworth, and father to Mr. Abierman PickerinFj 
of Leeds. 

H Mr, Hirst married the lady dowager Kamsden; 



172 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Fourth. — Sir. G. fFentivorth's Division. 

Sir G. Wentworth,* Colonel Vaughan, 

^ Sir Thomas Bland,t Lieut. Col. Wentworth, 

Major Godfrey Copley, :t Mr. Brian Stappleton, /?a. 

Richard Beaumont,|| Mr. Empson, sen. j^a. 

John Monckton, Mr. Hamerton, pa. 

Baron Killowson, Mr. Nookes, of Nodes Hall, 

Capt. Harris, Mr. Richard Lyster, 

Hilton, son to baron Hilton, Mr. Ed. Rushy, alderman, 

Ramsden, Mr. Richard Gates, do. 

Benson of Wakefield, Mr. Thos. Austwick, do. 

Chadwicke, Mr. Clitherow, of Pontefract. 

Washington,§ Cornet Audsley, 

Jer\'ise Ne\-ille,^ Sanderson, 



* Wentworth, of West Bretton, abiancli of the ancient family of the Wentworths 
of Wentworth Woodhouse, near Rotherham. Thomas was lord'deputy lieutenant of 
the West-Riding of this county, and a captain of the train bands for Charles I. He 
suffered much for his loyalty; but living till the restoration he was knighted 27th Sep- 
tember, 1664, 

Sir G. Wentworth, of Woolley, a branch of the above family. He married to his 

first wife Anne, daughter of Thomas lord Fairfax, of Denton : to his second wife 

daughter of Christopher ]Maltby, esq. and had issue two sons, who died young, and three 
daughters ; Averil, who marriecijohn Thornton, esq.; Frances, who married John Grant- 
ham, esq. ; and Ann, who married W. Osbaldeston, esq. Sir George suffered much in 
consequence of the part he took in the war. He was fined for his delinquency 318SZ. 

t Bland, of Blands-Gill, in the North Riding. Arms, Argent on a bend sable, 
three Pheons Or. Sir Thomas married Catherine, daughter of John lord Saville, of I'on- 
tefract and Howiey, and sister of Thomas Saville, earl of Sussex. He had issue, first 
Thomas, second Adam, who married the widow of John Girlington, of Thurgoland cas- 
tle ; and two daughters, Catherine, who married Thomas Harris'bn, esq. of Dancer's hill, 
in Hertfordshire, "and Frances, who married John Belton, esq. of Rawcliffe. 

Sir Thomas Bland, the son and heir of the above Thomas, commanded in sir G. 
Wentworth's division, and his brother Adam was a major of horse, and one of those 
who issued from the castle and surprised Rainsborough at Doncaster. This sir Thomas 
married Rosamond, daughter of Francis Neville, esq. ofChevet, near Wakefield. By 
her he had issue, Francis, Adam, Rosamond, and Catherine. Rosamond married Mar- 
tin Headly, alderman of Leeds, and Catherine married John Frank, esq. of Pontefract. 
Sir Thomas, like most of Charles's friends, suffered greatly in his cause, and was fined 
405^ by Oliver. As a compensation for his loyalty, Charles II. honoured him with 
knighthood. 

" Sir Francis Bland, his son and heir, married the daughter of sir William Lowther, 
of Preston. He was succeeded by sir Thomas Bland, who dying yoimg, the estate came 
to sir John Bland, who was for many years a worthy representative of this borough, and 
built a new steeple to St. Giles' church. 

t The ancient and reputable family of the Copleys, is descended from the gieat 
Saxon nobleman, Chillibert, from a branch of the family of Fitzwilliams. The last fe- 
male heiress of this family, married Godfrey Fouljambe, from whom, by another mar- 
riage, descended the Copleys, who still retain the name of Godfrey. Godfrey Copley, 
of .Sprotborough, was created baronet, 17th June, 1661. He greatly adorned' this seat 
■of his, with canals, gardens, fountains, &c. &c. 

II The seat of the ancient and famous family of the Beaumonts, was at Whitley 
Hall. They flourished in England before the barons and viscounts Beaumonts came 
«ver. Richard Beaumont was the heir male, and he died without issue. 

§ A family of the name of Washington enjoyed a large estate at Adwick-le-Street. 
Tlie register of baptisms in the church there, proves that^^this family was there settled 
as early as 1548, and many of this name are also interred there. The Washington who 
jcontributed to the defence of our castle, was most probably one of this family. 

N. B. it has been said that the famous general Washington, sprang from them. 
It is certain, that the ancestors of the general emigrated from Yorkshire; and like 
many who departed to America, were zealous friends o"f religious and civil liberty. 

■^ Captain Jcivise Neville was brother to Francis Neville, ofChevet, near'Wake- 
jn<>ld. Esquire, 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 173 

Mr. Thimbelbye*, pa. Lieut. Cooke,t 

Mr. Andrew East, pa. Cuthbert, 

Mr. Michael Anne, Mr. Fermar, 

Mr. Allot,t Richard Dobson, 

Mr. Fenton, Richard Beaumont,§ 
Joseph Oxley, Clergy to this Division. 

Richard Bilcliffe,|l Thomas Bradley, D. D.1[ 

Daniel Fielding, Mr. Lyster,** 

Thomas Biggleskirke, Mr. Moscham, or Maskam, 

Thomas Mollesby, Mr. Burley. 
Gilbert Grey, Physician. 

Dr. Collins. 

The list which has been given cannot fail to gratify a laudable cu- 
riosity, by imparting considerable information respecting the brave 
defenders of our castle. Many of the respectable families, whose an- 
cestors distinguished themselves, b}^ their loyalty, prudence, and 
courage, still remain in this neighbourhood ; and, the more humble 
names of many others, continue likewise in the borough and surround- 
ing villages. 

* The Thimbelbyes resided at Gameslon, or Gamelstone, a small village near 
Bridford, in Nottinghamshire. A Mr, William Thimbelbye was enfeoffed with the 
town of Lourbottil, in Northumberland, by sir Robert Ogle, in the reien of Edward ITI. 

t Bryan Cooke, of Sandal, esq. had a sonBryan, of the same place, who for his 
loyalty toCharles I. was fined by the sequestrators 1460/.; and it is very probable that 
this gentleman was the lieutenant mentioned above. Branches of this family have in- 
termarried with the most lespectable families in tliat neighbourhood; and a considera- 
ble part of the estate belonging to the Yarboroughs, originally of Snaith Hall, came to 
G. Cooke Yarborough, esq. of Streetthorpe. 

X Allot of Crigglestone and Bentley, a family respectable for property, and united 
by marriage with the Wentworths and Copleys. The Allot who volunteered in the de- 
fence of our castle, was most probably Edward, the son of John Allot, of Crigglestone. 
A Richard Allot settled at Bilham Grange, and married Grace, daxighter of G. Went- 
worth, esq. of Brelton. Part of the Crigglestone estate is now the property of J. Allot, 
esq. of Hague Hall, the eldest male branch of this family. 

II This gentleman resided at the village of Houghton, near Pontefract. 

§ A Mr. Beaumont, who was rector of South Kirby, was so transported with zeal 
for the royal cause of Charles I. that though a spiritual person, yet he became a chief 
instrument in surprising the castle of Pontefract, when occupied by the forces of par- 
liament. He corresponded with major Morrice, and formed a contrivance with others 
at his house, how to effect it; but the design being discovered by an intercepted letter, 
he was seized and imprisoned, and loaded with heavy irons. On his refusing to dis- 
cover the plotters of the conspiracy, he was tried by a council of war, and was executed 
within two hours of his trial, by one of his nearest relations, who was compelled to do 
this deed of butchery. He left behind him, a wife and four small children, with but a 
scanty pittance for their maintenance. It is very probablCj-the Mr. Beaumont men- 
tioned above, might be either this reverend gentleman, or one of his relatives. 

*\ The reverend Thomas Bradley, was parson of Ackworth, and Castleford, and 
warmly espoused the cat\se of royalty. He lived a long time after the restoration. 

*'* Mr. James Lyster was vicar of "VV^akefield, and a person of excellent learning, 
exemplary piety, and a profitable teacher. The ordinances of parliament against 
the conformable clergy, coming so frequent, he was forced from his flock, to provide 
for his own safety. He was plundered and sequestered ; and suffered all the hardships 
of a vagabond, for many years, for although he had a good estate, it was sequestered ; 
and although he was reduced to poverty, yet being a person of great spirit, he would not 
stoop to receive alms. At length, colonel Bramley, who married the lady Hopton^ gave 
him a small living at Leathley ; so like a fly, that the soaring eagle of those times would 
not stoop to catch it. Here he lived happily until the restoration, when he was re- 
called by his beloved parishioncis of Wakefield, to fulfil his spiritual offices there. 



J74 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT, 



SECTION V. 

The fortifications of Pontefract, were of such strength and magni- 
tude, and the prudence and courage of the royalists esteetned so great, 
that the parliamentarian generals deemed the greatest force they 
possessed, necessary to undertake the siege of it. Being considered 
by all to be a most important fortress, it was fated to become again the 
seat of contending parties, the scene of bloodshed and of warfare, to 
resound with the din of clashing arms ; and to be the last resource of 
royal hopes and the bulwark of Charles against the roundhead faction. 
The wall of circumvallation or breastwork formed round the town 
of Pontefract, crossed the upper end of Micklegate, passed over Nor-j 
gate and Paradise lane, running by Paradise closes up to Monkhill ; 
and proceeding on the westward of Box-lane, passed the vicarage on 
the east, crossed the water course, and ran up to and crossed Baghill. 
It then extended across Baghill-lane, below the pinfold garden, divided 
the Knottingley turnpike road called Topping lane, and proceeded into 
Micklegate. Upon this work of circumvallation were the following fif- 
teen works erected : — The main guard — the school house guard — Fair- 
fax's royalhorn work— the north horn work—Colonel Bright's fort— Lieut. 
General Cromwell's fort — Colonel Dean's fort — the Tanalian guard — the 
New Hall guard — East guard — Baghill guard — Major General Lambert's 
fort royal — the horn work — the pinfold guard — and the horse guard. 

JOURNAL 'OF THE SIEGE, 

August^ 1644. — Colonel Sandys, whose troops were now encamped 
before the town, having gained intelligence of a party sent from the 
fortress, to protect the cattle whilst grazing in the fields, pushed for- 
ward speedily in pursuit, and coming up with them, a skirmish ensued^ 
when the royalists sustained a defeat, and had forty horses taken b] 
the enemy. Meanwhile, Knaresborough and Helmsl^y submitted to ' 
the arms of the parliament ; and the forces, consisting of detachments 
of horse under the command of sir Thomas Fairfax,* colonels Wren, 

* Denton Park, delightfully situated on the Wharf, was for several generations 
the principal residence of the Fairfaxes ; of whom sir William Fairfax married Isabel^ 
the daxighter of Tliomas Thwaites, by whom he had the manor of Denton. This line ii 
seven generations produced two .judges, sir Guy and William Fairfax ; and two distin 
guished generals, Ferdinando and Thomas, successive lords of Fairfax. To the latte^ 
gentleman, the public are indebted for the voluminous collections of Dodsworlh. The 
mas died at the age of GO, Nov. 12,1671. His son, an English poet, was born here. 



MISTORV OF PONTEFRACT. 175 

Alund, and Lambert, aided by the infantry of colonels Fairfax, Bright, 
Overton, and White, and the dragoons of colonel Morgan, marched 
from thence to Pontefract, where they arrived and took possession of 
the town, on Wednesday, the 25th of December. On their approach, 
the besieged opened a fire upon them from three pieces of ordnance, 
and continued without intermission until nightfall. They began to 
erect their batteries in order to storm the castle, and took possession 
of the house of alderman Lunn, who in the cause of royalty had re- 
linquished all the sweets of domestic repose, for the toils^ and dangers 
of warfare. After erecting the first battery in his back yard, they 
commenced one on Baghill, which afterwards proved the most de- 
structive. 

December 26. — The besieged commenced a dreadful fire upon the 
parliamentarians on this day, and continued to do so the whole of the 
following day, during which time they played 16 pieces of cannon. 

28M. — The church of All Saints, situated at the north east corner 
of the castle, was deemed a place of great importance, and the enemy 
therefore resolved on dislodging the royalists, who had now occupied 
it four days. As soon therefore as day break appeared, they attacked 
the church ; but the royalists being protected greatly by their friends 
from the castle, who poured upon the enemy the fury of eleven pieces 
of ordnance, obstinately refused to surrender, until overpowered by 
numbers, when they made a hasty retreat about seven o'clock in the 
morning, leaving eleven men and boys in the steeple. 

They then made three seperate sallies from the castle, in order to 
regain this post, but in vain. The struggle each time in the church 
and its burial ground was desperate, and ended in the final defeat of 
the royalists, who had three men slain and eleven wounded ; of the 
latter, captain Waterhouse,* of Netherton, and three privates died of 
their wounds, a short time afterwards. Of the loss of the parliamen- 
tarians, a report reached the castle in the evening, that they J^ad con- 
veyed from the scene of battle forty wounded soldiers, and had sixty 
more slain. 

On the following day, captain Joshua Walker, and the other per- 
sons in the steeple, having suffered great hardships, and being destitute 
of provisions, formed the daring project of escaping from their place 
of refuge, in order to join their friends in the castle. They accordingly 
procured a bell rope, and descended by means of it, on the west end of 
the church, when the enemy discovered them, and opening a steady 
fire upon them, wounded the captain in the thigh. 

* A branch of the Waterhouses resided at Halifax, and another at the village of 
Wyther in the county of York. 



176 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

On Monday the 30th, the besieged began to play 15 cannon, and 
continued to keep up an incessant fire until the Sunday following, the 
5th of January, 1645 ; and on this day a Mr Pattison standing on the 
round tower, vv^as shot in the head by a musket ball, and died imme- 
dately. On the 6th, 7th, and 8th, the besieged had 12 pieces of ord- 
nance in use, which they played into various parts of the town. 

On Thursday the 9th, the besieged directed one of their drakes 
against Newhall, and after battering it for a length of time, a breach 
was made. One of the stones flying from the wall, struck colonel 
Forbes on the face, but hurt him very little. During the day, the be- 
sieged played 10 cannon into the town, and captain TuUy departed 
from the garrison with 140 men and horse, to Newark. On the mor- 
row, being Friday, the 10th, the besieged began to play 24 cannon, 
which they continued to do without intei-mission until the Monday fol- 
lowing, the 13th, when they added six more pieces to the number. The 
besiegers on this day sent a party out into the closes below the town 
to reconnoitre, when the besieged discovering them, fired one cannon 
upon them. How many were slain is uncertain, but they never came 
again. On the 14th, loth, aad 16th, the besieged continued to fire the 
same number of cannon ; and up to this period, it was computed they 
had shot about 128 cannon, as well as 15 sling pieces. 

In the evening of this day, the enemy brought sixteen pieces of 
cannon by the road from Ferrybridge, one carrying a bullet of 421bs 
weight, another of 361bs weight, two of 241bs weight, and the rest of 91bs 
weight ; and the whole of this artillery was drawn up in the back yard 
of Mr. Lund, in front of Pype's Tower. When the besieged perceived 
their intentions, they strengthed this part very greatly. 

Ferdinando, lord Fairfax, having axTived at Pontefract this day, 
from Helmseley, sent to the fortress the following summons, directed 
to the commander in chief of Pontefract castle : — 

' In the performance of the trust i*eposed in me, by the parliament, 
for the service of the publick ; and particular safety and preservation 
of this country, I have drawn here part of the forces under my com- 
mand, to endeavour the reducing of this castle, fwhich hitherto hath 
opposed the parliament, and infinitely prejudiced the country) to obe- 
dience of the king and parliament, which I much desire may be efi'ect- 
ed without the effusion of blood, and to that end, now send you this 
summons to surrender the castle to me, for the service of the king 
and parliament. — Which if you presently do, I will engage my power 
with the parliament for your reception into mercy and favour here- 
with. But your refusing or dissenting the same, will compel me to- 
ttie triall of the success which I hope will prevail for the publick good. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 177 

I shall expect your answer to be returned "to me by Colonel Forbes, to 
whom I shall give further instructions in your behalfe.' 
16th. January, 1645. * FER. FAIRFAX.'* 

The governor, upon the receipt of this summons, gave a verbal 
answer to the messenger ; saying, ' That the matter was of great con- 
cern, and it would req\iire some time to consider of it ; that he would 
call together the gentlemen of the garrison, they being many and of 
good quality, and consult with them about it, and would send him an 
answer sometime on the morrow at the farthest.' Captain Forbes, to 
whom the answer was given, then answered ' that it should be wel- 
come, if it came not too late. The governor gave this verbal answer 
to colonel Forbes, in order that he might delay the commencing of 
hostilities, and thereby have an opportunity of finishing a battery he 
had caused to be erected, as well as to line the battlements extending 
from Pype's tower to the round tower, as he was aware that the enemy 
intended to plant the most of their ordnance against this part of the 
castle, it being the weakest, on account of a hollow place running in 
the inside of the wall, and connecting the two towers. Accordingly 
when darkness favoured their design, he employed 60 soldiers, who 
carried earth and stones in baskets to the place, and filled up the weak 
parts with back and breasts of horse armor, forming an inner wall of 
them, four or five yards thick. 

In the morning he drew up the following answer i — 
* According to my allegiance to which I am sworn, and in pursu- 
ance of the trust reposed in me by his majesty, I will defend this cas- 
tle, to the utmost of my power, and doubt not, by God's assistance, 
the justness of his majesty's cause, and virtue of my comrades, to 
quell all those that shall oppose me in the defence thereof, for his 
majesty's service.— For the blood that is like to be spilt in the action 
let it be upon their heads who are the causes of it.— This is the resolu- 
tion, which I desire you to certify the lord Fairfax, from 

Your affectionate friend, 

RICHARD LOWTHER-- 
17th January, 1645. 

The governor was prevented from despatching this letter as he 
had intended. The morning's dawn (17th January) shewed to the 
parliamentarians how busily they had been engaged during the night. 
Perceiving the fortification they had erected, they took it for granted 



I78 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT, 

that they refused to surrender, and before sunrise they began to play 
their cannons unceasingly against the south side of the castle ; and 
before 7 o'clock in the morning it was computed they had shot 400 
balls. The besieged played sixteen cannon against them on these two 
days. They played 348 cannon on the 18tb, and kept up a continued 
fire until the evening of the following day, when it was computed^ 
that in three days they had shot about 1034 cannon. 

On the 19th, the enemy planted the greater part of their cannon^ 
against Pypes tower, and shot against it about 286 cannon, when at 
about 9 o'clock in the morning, it fell with a tremendous crash, to- 
gether with a great part of the battlements, extending between it and 
the round tower. In the morning of the 19th, previously to the fall of 
this tower, the beseiged shot 78 balls. Although three or four men 
were wounded, and two brothers, called Briggs Mason killed by the 
falling of Pypes tower ; yet many adventured out into the graft, ex- 
posed to the enemy's fire, and brought into the fortress, cannon balls, 
which had either rebounded from the walls, or fallen with the loosened 
stones. They were encouraged in this hazardous enterprize, by a re- 
ward the governor had offered, of fourpence for every bullet gathered 
from the graft. From the fall of Pypes tower, the enemy kept up a 
heavy discharge of cannon, until the breach was made of such a mag- 
nitude, that they thought it possible to enter it by assault. During this 
battery the enemy shot about 5500 balls. 

When the firing had abated towards evening, captain Munroe, a 
Scotch gentleman, and captain Leyburn, descended into the graft, to 
view how far the cannonading had entered into the wall ; and finding 
it to be about a yard and a half, they ordered the soldiers to strengthen 
the walls inside. They then carried earth and filled up the breach, 
and by the advice of captain Munroe, and a German soldier, (who had 
atchieved many memorable feats, by sallies and stratagems, in the 
castle,) they formed an inner trench, or traverse, very wide and deep, 
planting upon the breastwork, palisadoes, Swedish arrows, &g. to de- 
fend it, in case of a scalado. 

On the morning of the 20th, the day on which the enemy expected 
the castle would surrender, the lord Fairfax, accompanied by his son, 
arrived from York, and feux de jois were fired, and guards of horse 
and foot appointed to receive and attend them. 

His lordship viewed the breach, which was now greatly defended 
by the newly erected fortifications, and judged it more advisable, to 
continue the blockade, than to sacrifice his men in so dangerous, and 
perhaps fi-uitless an assault. Moreover, the firmness and intrepidity 
of the garrison sa dispirited the enemy, that many deserted and fled, 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 1 79 

for fear least they should be ordered on this service. The besiegers 
had expected that the garrison would have been inclined to surrender ; 
and when they discovered that this expectation was unfounded, they lost 
their confidence, and for some time did little more than keep on their 
defence ; for had they intended to have entered by assault, they would, 
in the first place, have had to scale from the deep graft, to an im- 
mense height, before they reached the breast work, exposed the whole 
of the time, to the heavy and incessant fire of the royalists, from the 
round tower, which flanked the breach. On their gaining the breast 
work, they would have been open to the cannon from the other tow- 
ers, and the force drawn up in the castle yard ; after which they would 
have to pass the traverse or inner trench ; and, in consideration of 
these difficulties, they abandoned tlie idea of attempting to take it by 
assault. 

About 11 o'clock on the 20th of January, a drummer was sent to 
the lower gate of the castle, by colonel Forbes, with instructions to 
beat a parley ; but the governor sent word, that he would receive no 
letters until the cannonading had ceased, whereupon colonel Forbes gave 
orders to that intent, and the drummer delivered the following letter : 
* Sir, 

I desire to have positive answer of the summons sent in on Thurs- 
day last, that I may give an account to my lord Fairfax (who is here) 
of your resolution. Likewise 1 desire to know, if Mr. Ogle must be 
exchanged for lieutenant Brown, or for money j and if for money, for 
what summe. 

Sir, 

I shall remain your friend, 

WILLIAM FORBES.'* 

The governor on the receipt of this, laid the letter he had previ- 
ously penned, before the gentlemen in council assembled ; and re- 
quested to know their advice, and if they would swear with him to 
prove it good. On their assenting unanimously to the contents of the 
letter, the governor despatched it by the drummer to colonel Forbes. 

As soon as the drummer was despatched, the governor command- 
ed the drums to roll, and trumpets to sound on the ramparts, and re- 
quested every squadron to arm and stand to their post. And, per- 
ceiving the enemy's horse drawn up in the park, and the infantry 
with rosemary in their hats, they conjectured that they would assault 
the breach. They waited under arms the whole of the afternoon for 
the enemy, with great cheerfulness. 

* Colonel Forbes was descended from a noble family, resident at Crammond, a 
village situated on the South side of the Frith, of Forth, five and a half miles from 
Edinburgh. He was slain in a pitched battle at Aberdeen, against the marquis of Mon- 



180 



HISTORY OF PONTEFUACT. 



On their refusal being made known, towards afternoon hostilities 
again commenced on each side, and 144 cannon are said to have been 
fired by the besieged. The besieged brought 16 cannon into action, 
and by a well directed fire of musquetry, kept the enemy from the 
walls until the evening, when a shot from the castle, struck a match 
in the enemy's works, and some sparks falling amongst a quantity of 
powder, it blew up and killed 27 men. 

On the 21st, captain Browne was killed in the barbican, by a 
miisquet bullet, and one John Spiere was also killed near him, by 
the overcharging of his musquet. The besieged fired 189 cannon 
this day. 

WTiile the siege was thus cai*ried on here, various altercations 
took place in the parliament. The earl of Essex was charged with 
neglect of duty, and an intention to prolong the war, instead of bring- 
ing it to a speedy conclusion. At length the self-denying ordinance, 
as it was called, was brought into the house ; and, on the failure of 
the treaty of Uxbridge, after violent debates, it was passed. By this 
ordinance, eveiy person was disqualified for any militaiy command, 
who enjoyed a seat in either house of parliament. The chief com- 
mand of all the forces of the parliament was conferred on sir Thomas 
Fairfax,* who was engaged in the siege of Pontefract castle. Colonel 
Lambert was appointed commissionary general of the army of the 
noi'th, and ordered to post down to take the charge of the troops, 
when Fairfax should quit that station, in ^vhich by his steady conduct, 
he had obtained the confidence of both houses. 

On the 22nd, the lord Fairfax perceiving his soldiers unwilling to 
venture on the hazardous enterprize of assaulting the castle, and not 
finding the breach so clear as he was given to understand, returned 
with his son to York, leaving the detachments under the command 
of major general Poyntz. On this day the besieged played 18 cannon, 
whilst the enemy played only three, which they shot the whole of the 
night following. 

The enemy obtaining little or no advantages from the battery, and 

finding a great many of their pieces of ordnance shivered with excess 

of firing, now endeavoured to undermine the castle, and as one of the 

garrison stated, * came to be as partners with Guido Fawkes, to dive 

downwards to the devil, and undermine us in several places, — making 

their boasts that they would bestow 100 barrels of powder upon us, 

but we perceiving their intentions, we answered them at their own 

weapons.' Two mines were then ordered to be wrought, and one was 

* « Sir Thomas Fairfax,' says Baxter, 'was a gentleman of no quick parts or elo- 
Crttion, but religious, faithful, valiant, and of a grave, sober, resolved disposition i 
neither too great, nor too cunning to be directed by the parliament,— Life, p. 4«. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 181 

commenced in a south westerly direction of the castle, to run below 
a house then occupied by Mr. John Ward, near the castle gate, and 
was to pass in a south westerly direction, under the moat of the cas- 
tle, and the round tower, which, being the highest and strongest 
tower of the forti'ess, was considered as a castle itself ; whilst the 
other was wrought in such a manner as to pass from St. Nicholas hos- 
pital, on the east end of the castle, in a north easterly direction of 
the castle, and to run under the base of the king's tower. 

As soon as the garrison gained intelligence of these two mines, 
Mr. Tindall, and Mr. Stringer, of Sharlston, sent for their colliers, who 
as soon as they arrived, sunk 12 very deep pits within the castle, as 
well as several under the walls. They then wrought from one to 
another, in order to countermine the enemy's works. Two very- 
strong traverses were also formed within the castle yard, for defence 
against any mines, should the enemy succeed in springing any within 
the yard of the castle.* The whole number of pits, is supposed to have 
not been less than 112. 

Each day did the thundering engines hurl destruction against the 
trembling walls, whilst its armed squadrons within sustained the hos- 
tile shocks, and poured the red hot balls against the rebellious legions. 
From the 22nd to the 31st, the besieged played 18 cannon daily, whilst 
the enemy on the 23rd played only 3 in the night j on the 24th in the 
night, four ; and on Saturday the 25th, 15 cannon. 

On the 1st of February, the besieged played four cannon, and 
on the 2nd, they increased the number to 29, including drakes and 
sling pieces ; from which they kept up a continual fire, until the 15th, 
annoying the enemy greatly, and dealing great destruction amongst 
them. This day, a cannon bullet from the besiegers, broke off a stone 
from the battlements, which striking against one James Elyatt, of 
York, fractured his leg so dreadfully, that he was obliged to have 
it amputated. The enemy played two cannon in the day time, and one 
in the night, and then ceased firing until the 12th, when they shot three 
cannon, but without doing any damage. Being reduced to great straits 
for want of provision, they found it would be impossible for them to 
hold out much longer, unless they could obtain reinforcements and sup- 
plies. The governor therefore sent Mr. Corker, with a party of six- 
teen soldiers, on the 6th, to prince Rupert, to acquaint the king with 
the situation of the garrison. The king was not willing to lose a fort- 
ress of such importance, or to suffer so many brave men to fall into 

* A tradition has prevailed concerning various subterraneous passages belonging 
to the castle. One of these is generally believed to have extended into the park.— . 
Doubtless, there w^ere various secret sallyports ; but is it not probable, that the mines 
and pits which Mr, Drake meotiona have given rise to each traditions i 



182 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

the hands of the enemj^ without an attempt to relieve them. He 
therefore commanded sir Marmaduke Langdale, with a hody of 2000 
horse, to march to their assistance ; and, on receiving his orders, he 
immediately marched from Oxford. 

On the 15th, a great many houses hehind Mr. Wakefield's, at the 
lower end of Northgate, were much cannonaded by the besieged 
and the enemy's part)' inhabiting them, thinking them unsafe, set 
set fire to them and departed. St. Nicholas' hospital was also much 
damaged this day, by five drakes shot from Swillington tower ; and, the 
town in various places, received the contents of 12 sling pieces. 

On Sunday, the 16th, the besieged only played three cannon ; and on 
the 17th, only three sling pieces, and it was stated that not less than 1400 
cannon had been shot against the castle, up to this period. The be- 
sieged shot one cannon on this day. On Shrove Tuesday they played 
two pieces of cannon into the sentry house, at the lower end of North- 
gate, which was then deserted by the enemy, who had proviously set 
it on fire. Percei\'ing straggling parties marching to and fro in the 
ditch, which ran from Mr. Ward's house, they poured in their grape 
shot, and killed five men, and on the following day, they killed a cap- 
tain in the same works. On the 20th, one of the besieged was shot 
through both his cheeks, whilst standing in the barbican, but he was 
not killed;— the besieged played one sling piece this day. On the 
21st they shot three sling pieces, and killed two men, and on the 22nd, 
(Saturday,^ they fired two cannon into the market place, and with the 
power of these two pieces, and their musquets, above 30 of the enemy 
were slain in various parts. On the 23rd they killed three men. 

The besiegers on Monday the 24th, killed one of the men of the 
garrison, in the barbican, with a musquet bullet, in the head. Cap- 
tain Smith had also his lip cut with a stone broke by a musquet bullet, 
but he soon recovered. A party of recruits, amounting to about 250 
men, with six standards, had mai'ched from Ferrj'bridge to join the 
besiegers. These were divided into two parties ; one half marched 
through the park, and on their halting there, the besieged played one 
cannon against them, when 3 men were seen to fall. The other ap- 
proached towards the church of All Saints, and the besieged perceiv- 
ing them, fired 11 sling pieces and innumerable musquets, and killed 
5 or 6 men. It was thought by the besieged, that they had slain some 
officer of note, for at midnight, the enemy were heai'd to fire two vol- 
leys of musquetry, as at the funeral of some great commander. The 
besieged killed many men on Tuesday the 25th ; and on the 26th, they 
played 2 cannon into the market place, doing great execution, whilst 
the besiegers shot three cannon against the castle. They also shot 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 183 

one cannon towards the besiegers' guns. Captain Maullett, whilst 
standing on the round tower, was shot through the head with a mus- 
quet bullet. The firing increased greatly on Thursday the 27th, but 
the number of slain, on the enemy's part, is uncertain. The besieged 
now began to be very much straightened, for want of ammunition and 
provisions, and hearing nothing from the king at Oxford, were fear- 
ful they should be obliged to surrender in a few days. 

Meanwhile sir Marmaduke Langdale had prosecuted his march 
with such vigour and activity, overthrowing all the enemy's forces who 
attempted to impede his progress, that he reached Doncaster on Thurs- 
day the 27th, and immediately dispatched a messenger to the exhaust- 
ed garrison, to inform them of his arrival* They received the joyful 
tidings with pleasure, and new hopes again began to revive ; and they 
anxiously awaited that contest which was to decide their fate. 

The besiegers on the same day received intelligence of Langdale's 
approach, and not knowing the strength of the royalists, took every 
precaution to secure their field pieces, ammunition and stores. They 
set five to Elizabeth Cattle's house, and several houses below Monk- 
hill, least they should afford a cover to the besieged in the expected 
action. The besieged perceiving their intentions, opened a destructive 
fire upon them from 12 pieces of cannon ; and played four cannon into 
the Market-place, which was thought did great execution. The enemy 
played three cannon, and one of the garrison being in the Barbican 
was shot through the calf of the leg with a musquet ball. In the 
evening the besiegers began to collect the cannon and forces to one 
part. Having shot 1406 cannon against the castle, colonels Lambert' 
and Forbes began on the 1 st of March to arrange their squadrons, in 
order to give Langdale a warm reception, and they therefore stationed 
them on the south and south-west of the town, in order of battle. About 
this time they^received from the lord Fairfax, then at York, positive 
orders to avoid an engagement if possible, to stand upon the defensive, 
and wait until additional troops should arrive to their assistance.f 

Sir Marmaduke Langdale's forces reached the top of the hill on the 
west of Wentbridge, about halfpast three o'clock on the 1st 6i March. 
Proceeding towards Darrington, he wheeled on the left by Carlton 

* Langdale in return of what the foe 

Had won, gave Rossiter an overthrow 

Near Melton Mowbray, as he passed that way 

Towards Pomfj-et Castle, where the rebels lay 

With Fairfax, unto whom he also gave 

A great defeat, and did the castle save. — Hist, of Grand Rebellion. 
Langdale to his king was a most loyal and prudent subject, as well as a valiant, 
skilful, and fortunate commander. 

t Not a single day had elapsed from the first commencement of the siege, but 
some of tlie enemy were slain by the guns of the garrison. It was computed that from 
the 25th of December, 1644, to the I7th January, 1645, the besieged shot 128 cannon, 
and from 17th January to 1st March, 96 more ; making a total of 224 cannon* 



184 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

field, and entering the Chequer field, drew up his forces and prepared 
for action. The armies faced each other until near six o'clock ; the 
parliamentarians alway retreating as the royalists advanced, until 
they reached the hedge which extended from a house occupied by a 
Mr. England to the hill top, and behind which the whole of their in- 
fantry laid in ambush. 

Lambert, on reaching this spot, waited not for additional troops, 
but rushed against the royalist squadrons with great impetuosity ; 
whilst the fire of the infantry so galled the horse of Langdale, that he 
was driven back, and must inevitably have been worsted, had not the 
besieged issued from the castle at this critical moment and attacking 
the rear of the parliament army, turned the fortune of the day. 
Langdale courageously rallied his troops, and aided by the infantry, 
now rushed again to the charge. The tug of war now became obstinate 
and furious, — 

Now meet the charging legions, — hate and ire 

Edge their keen swords and sparkle in their eyes :- 
The glowing field appears a moving fire : , 

Loud and more loud the mingling clangors rise^ 
Fierce discord thunders, and the hills reply 
Hoarse echoing — trembles earth,.and shakes the sky. - 
From host to host gigantic terror strides, 

And darts chill horror through the bravest breast. 
Grim death amid the ranks in triumph rides. 

And calls hell's hungry bloodhounds to the feast. — 

Four or five times did the enemy return to the charge, and the 
ground was lost and won with the most determined bravery each time, 
until confusion siezed their infantry, and Lambert being severely 
wounded, was compelled to sound a retreat. They fled in the greatest 
disorder towards Ferrybridge, leaving the field stained with the blood of 
their bravest officers ; amongst whom were colonels Aniiin, Thoraton, 
and Mallory, and above 160 soldiers, together with 100 more taken 
captive, and amongst which were many officers. 

The royalists hung close upon the rear of the flying foe, until they 
arrived at the bridge of Ferrybridge, where being defended by an iron 
piece of ordnance, they made a stand, and another conflict ensued. 
Three times they discharged this tremendous field piece, twice with 
case shot, and once with cannon bullet, killing four of the besieged. 
Here too they were worsted and pursued with great slaughter nearly 
to Tadcaster, with the loss of 140 soldiers slain, and 600 more taken 
captive, amongst whom were many men of note. Their iron 
ordnance, 57 double barrels of powder, 47 of which contained 1241bs 
a piece, 1600 stand of arms, 40 stand of colours, being all botk 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 185 

the horse and foot possessed, with 20 carriages, and all their musquets, 
pikes, bullets, matches, provisions, and baggage, were brought into the 
castle. The plunder of the field was left to the soldiers and the inhabi- 
tants of the country. Thus the parliamentarians, who were six to one, 
had above 300 soldiers slain, and 700 wounded and taken captive, whilst 
the royalists only lost 20 men. Langdale having quartered his troops in 
the town and parts adjacent, entered the castle between ten and eleven 
o'clock at night. A body of cavalry was stationed at Featherstone, and 
another at Houghton, under the command of Langdale Sunderland, of 
Ackton, esq.* He was connected with the family of sir Marmaduke 
Langdale by marriage, and accompanied that gentleman in most of his 
enterprises. Previous to the battle of Chequer field, lord Fairfax had de- 
parted from Pontefract, in order to bring up the Yorkshire forces, when 
he was apprised on his return of the total overthrow of the troops before 
the castle. He therefore under cover of the night, entered Glass 
Houghton, and falling suddenly on Sunderland's troops, routed them, 
and took 100 horse and many men prisoners. Fairfax now rallied his 
forces, and in a few days found himself at the liead of a great and 
powerful army. 

Meanwhile, Langdale having relieved the castle, and refreshed 
his men with a little rest, marched out of this important fortress, in 
the morning of Monday the 3rd of March, towards Doncaster, and so 
on to Newark, disputing on his march nine passes, engaging in twelve 
skirmishes, and vanquishing 9000 of the enemy. 

Thus ended the first siege of Pontefract castle, during which the 
garrison had given the strongest proofs of a prudent and courageous 
spirit. On the besiegers' part had been slain before the castle, about 
160 men, and in the skirmish of Chequer field and the retreat, about 
300 more, as well as the loss of nearly 1000 more taken captive. 

Being now victors in the field, they made several excursions, laid 
in an ample store of supplies for the future, and levied heavy contri- 
butions on the surrounding country- Their exactions were exorbitant, 
and were therefore immediately enforced, for they were well aware, 
they should not long, be possessors of tranquillity. Nor in this were 
they disappointed, for upon Langdale's departm-e, the parliamenta- 
rians again collected, and the garrison was destined to sustain another 
siege, longer and more tedious than the first. 

* Langdale Sunderland, having purchased Ackton, removed" there from High Suir- 
derland, near Halifax, the ancient seat of his family. He raised a regiment of cavalry in 
defence of the royal cause, at his own expense. He spent fifteen hundred pounds per 
annum in the royal cause, and suffered, considerably in the time of Oliver ; but like 
many others, after the restoration, was neglected and forgotten. He lies interred iii 
Featherstone church. His grandson Peter sold: the Featherstone and Ackton estates ta 
Edmund Winn, esq, from whom It has descended to sir Edmund Mark Winn, bart..thfi 
present possessor.. 

A A 



186 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT^ 



SECTION VL 



THE SECOND SIEGE. 

On Tuesday, the 1 Lth of March, captain Leyburne and another 
©fficer riding from the castle, towards Wentbridge, and meeting with 
Mr Ellis, the great sequestrator, of Brampton, and a quartennaster, 
took them both and brought them prisoners to the castle. They after- 
wards made excursions to Turnbridge beyond Ackworth, a small sta- 
tion belonging to the enemy, which they attacked, and took lieutenant 
eolonel Lee, lieutenant colonel Ledger, and three horses. 

On the 15th, a party scoured the road towards Doncaster, and 
meeting with colonel Brandling's regiment, they routed it and took 
one major, one lieutenant, and about one hundred horse. Another 
party, on the same night, paid a second visit to Turnbridge, and 
plundered the enemy's storehouse of whatever it contained. 

The re-appearance of the troops of the parliament soon checked 
the garrison, and put an end to their excursions. On Monday, the 
2lst, a considerable body took possession of the upper town. Captain 
Redman was killed near the brigg, and three others belonging the 
garrison taken prisoners. A woman was shot through the hand, and 
a man through the thigh, by the same ball, whilst standing on the 
round tower ; yet neither of them were killed. The enemy were not 
sufficiently strong to surround the castle, and the garrison continued 
still in possession of the lower part of the town, fiom whence they 
could be always supplied with wood and provisions. 

The besiegers, fully convinced that the castle was impregnable, 
and that the courage and loyalty of its defenders could not be subdued, 
unless by famine, began to intrench themselves, and to form a regu- 
lar blockade. They again took possession of the New Hall, Monkhill, 
and Baghill, where they began to form trenches and erect strong 
works ; in the construction of which, the besieged annoyed them 
greatly by daily sallies and a heavy incessant fire from 15 field pieces. 

On the 24th they fired three cannon against the house of Mr. Wil- 
liam Booth, ia the park. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. iS? 

A party from the garrison made a sally on the 28th, and attacked 
the intrenchments on Baghill, killed two of the enemy, and then re- 
treated without loss. In the night of the 31st, captain Smith, with 
thirty men, went forth, and unexpectedly falling on a harn which the 
€nemy had converted into a guard-house, routed the guard, and 
killed four men. 

The besiegers, notwithstanding these attempts of the garrison, 
and the losses they daily sustained, continued to work at their in- 
trenchments, and converted different houses and barns in the town, 
into guard houses. The houses of the aldermen, who had fled to the 
castle, and volunteered in its defence, were immediately occupied j 
among which, as being best situated for the purpose, those of the 
aldermen Lunn, Rusby, and Oates, are particularly mentioned. 

The garrison, equally bold and watchful, availed themselves of 
every opportunity of impeding the works, and diminishing the num- 
bers of the enemy. On Tuesday, the 1st of April, they assaulted the 
guard at Monkhill, and killed ten men ; one man was also slain neai° 
the low church by a shot from the round tower. 

On the 4th, a vigorous and successful sally was made by three 
companies, consisting of thirty men each. Alderman Rusby's house 
and barn were assaulted, one captain and three privates were killed, 
the rest dispersed, and the house and barn set on fire. The different 
sentries, near the low church, were also attacked, and compelled ts 
retreat, with the loss of one taken prisoner- 

The besiegers, in consequence of this sally," drew up their forces, 
and lined the hedges from the park to Denwell, with infantry. They 
erected their standards at the top of Skinner-Lane, which the besieged 
perceiving, directed their cannon against them, and presently beat 
them down. 

On the 5th, a party of horse under the command of captains 
Washington and Beale, and forty musketeers, under the command of 
captain Smith, sallied forth against the enemy. The horse fought 
with great bravery, and compelled the enemy to retire into the town, 
when having doubled the number of their cavalry, returned to the 
charge, supported by one hundred musketeers, who lined the hedges* 
Though the enemy kept up a heavy fire, the party from the castle 
maintained their ground, and took in their presence, two butchers 
coming into the town loaded with meat, which afforded a seasonable 
repast to the garrison. 

On Easter Sunday, the 6th, the rancour which prevailed in each 
party displayed itself. The governor had solicited colonel Forbes to 
permit him to purchase wine in the town, for the sacrament j and 



188 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

colonel Forbes, with that spirit of liberality which distinguishes the 
gentleman, readilj' granted a protection to any person the governor 
might send into the town for that purpose. But the guards refused 
passage to those so deputed ; and one Browne, of Wakefield, observed, 
* If it was for their damnation they should have it, but not for their sal- 
vation ;' language which sufficiently evinces his narrow mind, bigo- 
try and prejudice. 

The garrison therefore, immediately after they had attended divine 
service, siezed the sword and shield, and sallying forth in different di- 
rections, made one combine<^nd general attack on the enemy's works. 
Captains Washington and Beale commanded the horse, attended by one 
hundred musketeers, under the command of captains Munroe and 
Flood. To each of these bodies were added twenty-five volunteers, 
who served under the four colonels within the castle ; twelve were 
taken from sir Richard Hutton's division, commanded by captain 
Croft; ten from sir G. Wentworth's, commanded by captain Benson j 
and ten from sir Jarvis Cutler's, commanded by captain Ogleby. 

The first party sallied out of Swillington tower, up Norgate, and 
inade a long and a desperate attack upon the enemy's works, which 
were as nobly and bravely defended. The other party sallied out of 
the lower gate, to All Saints church, and having dispersed the guards, 
wheeled up the south side of the town, by the halfpenny-house, to the 
enemy's trenches, where a similar attack was made. While these par- 
ties were engaged with the enemy, they were in part protected, and 
considerably assisted by the fire of their fi-iends from the castle. In 
these rencounters the principal loss fell to the share of the besiegers, 
having one hundred and thirty killed, besides the wounded ; the be- 
sieged had only two men killed, and two wounded. They took one 
prisoner, a quantity of muskets and swords, and one drum. 

On the evening of the same day, captains Smith and Ratcliffe, and 
lieutenant Wheatley, with an hundred men, again sallied forth up 
Norgate, and thence into the market-place, where they kept up a se- 
vere fire, and did great execution for nearly an hour. In this attack 
the enemy's powder magazine, near Mr, Lunn's house, was set on 
fire, and blew up about twenty men, many of whom were killed, and 
the rest severely bui*nt. 

Although the besiegers suffered much, they received various rein- 
forcements, and carried on their works with diligence and success. — 
If the besieged, by their bold and well conducted sallies compellec 
them to retreat with loss, their numbers were inadequate to maintaii 
the works the besiegers had left ; and in their turn they were oblige 
to retreat to the castle, for their own security. The spirit, thi 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 189 

valour, and the perseverance of the besieged, effected all that was 
possible* 

On Monday the 7th, they made another sally to Baghill, where 
they killed one man and took another prisoner, with two horses. The 
musketeers from the castle protected them, and by a vigorous fire 
killed eight or ten men in the trenches. On the following day they 
repeated their attack against the enemy's works on Baghill, but on 
the whole were unsuccessful. The enemy having retreated to their 
works, doubled the number of their horse, and adding one hundred 
musketeers to their force, compelled the party from the castle to re- 
treat ; which they etfected without loss, lieutenant Moore being only 
wounded by a shot in the arm.* 

A bod)!- of troops under the command of sir John Saville,t which 
had been employed before Sandal castle, came on the 9th, to strength- 
en the besiegers here. They were principally stationed at the New 
Hall, and during the remaining part of the siege, they suffered much 
from the sallies and fire of the garrison. 

On the 10th, about twenty of the enemy were killed in their differ- 
ent works, during the day ; and in the night the cannon was discharg- 
ed twice, loaded with grape shot, into the trenches at Baghill, where 
the cries of the wounded indicated the slaughter to be dreadful. 

Alderman Thomas Wilkinson, who had with many others, enter- 
ed into the castle, was on Saturday the 12th, unfortunately killed by a 
shot from Baghill, whilst standing near the gate of the barbican. — 
Thus were one party watching the other ; and an individual could not 
make his appearance without being exposed to the fire of his enemies. 

The besiegers on the 13th, drew up three or four troops of horse, 
as if it was their intention to undertake some important enterprize. — 
About noon a considerable number formed on the sand bed, below the 
New Hall, on perceiving which, the besieged opened a cannonade 
from the king's tower upon them, dismounted a whole file, killed two 
men and their horses, and severely wounded four others. 

The besieged, by firing from the towers, endeavoured to protect 
the cattle, which they sent out of the castle to graze in the adjoining 
meadows. The besiegers on the other hand, availed themselves of 
every opportunity of shooting at the cattle, and of compelling the 

* On the 9th, a lieutenant Peny, with another, met one of the enemy's scouts on 
Baghill, and run him through ; but his companion fleeing, and the enemy approaching, 
he was obliged to leave both the man and the horse. On relieving the sentries, the fire 
from the castle kiHed two men and one woman. The besieged saw from the castle the 
besiegers send off five waggons loaded with the wounded. 

t Sir John Saville, of Methley, the son of sir John who had married, to his second 
wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Wentworth, of North -Elmsall, esq. This sir John 
married, to his first wife, Mary, daughter of John Robinson, ofRither, esq. and was 
high sheriff of Yorkshire, in the twenty-fourth of Charles I. He espoused the cause of 
Jjberty and freedom, and exerted himself on the side of the parliament. 



190 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

besieged to drive them in again for the purpose of security. This gave 
rise to various, and almost daily skinmishes, which seldom terminated 
without the effusion of blood. On Monday the 14th, a party of the 
enemy attacked the cattle, near Swillington tower, but a heavy fire of 
musketry from the towei', compelled them to retreat, and they saved 
the cattle. 

The enemy on this day received three loads of ammunition, and 
the garrison counted five troops of horse more than they had hitherto 
observed. They conjectured, that, as the treaty of Uxb ridge had failed, 
and as it was the king's intention to raise the siege of Chester, and to 
detach a part of his forces to recover his authoiity, into Yorkshire, a 
general engagement in this part was expected, as an army of 3,000 
Scotch, now lay at Leeds, Knaresborough, York, Cawood, Selby, and 
Pontefract. 

This day a sally was made by about 20 men, without any com- 
mander, except one of their companions, distinguished for his personal 
courage and conduct, called Wm. Wether, or Belwether. They ap- 
proached one of the enemy's barricades, near the New Hall, bravely 
attacked it, and defeated the men, who fled to their horse guard. The 
assailants began to demolish the work, and continued their employ- 
ment till they observed the enemy's horse ready to charge, when they 
retreated without loss to the castle. On the afternoon Lieut. Peny 
observing five of the garrison's musketeers engaged with four of the 
enemy's horse, near Baghill, rode to their assistance, attended by sir 
Jarvis Cutler's man, rescued them, and brought them back to the 
castle. 

The same night Wm. Belwether, attended by six of his companions, 
fell on the enemy's trenches, near Broad-lane end, killed three men and 
an officer dressed in a buff coat and black scarf, (supposed to be colonel 
Eden,) dispersed the rest, and returned in safety. 

On Tuesday the 15th, various attacks were made by the garrison, 
but without much loss to the besiegers. In a sally made on this day, 
the garrison suffered a severe loss in the deaths of colonel Tindall, lieut. 
colonel Middleton, and other officers^ as well as many soldiers of infe- 
rior rank.* 

A vigorous and successful sally was made on the 16th. Captain 
Hemsworth, with fifty musketeers, went out of the lower gate to the 
trenches, near Alderman Lunn's house ; and captain Munroe, with 
other fifty, from Swillington tower, up Northgate, to the enemy's 
trenches. These were assisted by fifty gentlemen volunteers, drawn 
from the four divisions in the garrison. A party of horse, under capt. 

* Whitlock, p. 142. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 191 ■ 

Beale and cornet Speight, were stationed near Baghill, to prevent the 
horse of the enemy giving any assistance to their infantry during the 
attack. The two parties assaulted the enemy's trenches with great 
bravery, and compelled them to retreat with great slaughter to another 
trench, nearer to the bridge. The loss of the besiegers in this skirmish 
was about fifty, in killed, wounded, and taken ; amongst the former 
was one lieutenant, and in the number of the latter was captain Wade, 
seven drummers, and sixty stand of arms. The next day the enemy 
was observed to cany away seven waggons loaded with wounded 
men. 

On the 18th, the besieged discovered about forty oxen and milch 
cows, belonging to the enemy, grazing in the fields. Impelled by the 
privations they suffered, they formed the design of attacking the ene- 
my and seizing the cattle. A body of horse commanded by captain 
Beale and cornet Speight, and another of infantry, under majors Bland 
and Dinnis, sallied forth, and completely effected their design, seizing 
all the cattle, and returning to the castle without the least loss. 

About an hour after this, a reinforcement of six hundred Scotch, 
horse and foot, under the command of colonel Montgomery, joined the 
besiegers. The supply the garrison had just obtained was very season- 
able, as they were now completely beleaguered. They gave the Scotch 
a warm reception on their arrival, keeping up a heavy cannonade from 
the castle, by which several were killed, and among these were captain 
Hamilton, and several other officers. 

This being the market-day the besiegei*s drew out a considerable 
body of cavalry and musketeers, on Baghill, to protect the butchers 
and others coming into the town, and to prevent the garrison obtain- 
ing a supply of fresh provisions ; but the besieged by a well directed 
fire fi'om the towers, obliged them to disperse, and quit their station. 

. A party of the Scotch, from Monkhill, lined the hedges, and as- 
saulted the musketeers, sent from the garrison to protect the cattle 
whilst grazing, but were repulsed. 

On the following day, (the 19th,) the beseiged set fire to the lower 
side of Monkhill, and at three different times compelled the enemy to 
retreat from their works. No considerable advantage was obtained, 
nor did the enemy suffer materially in these rencountres.* 

On Sunday the 20th, the Scotch fired the upper part of Monkhill, 
and began entrenchments from Bondgate mill, towards their barricades 
at Cherry Orchard Head; and from thence raised several strong works 
to the top of Monkhill. 

* Drake's MS. On the same day three privates displayed their courage, by sally- 
ing up Grange lane, and attacking the Scotch in their works at the top of it, and com- 
pelling them to retreat. 



192 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

The besieged, in order to annoy the enemy on Baghill, began to 
raise a mount within the Barbican, where they intended to plant 
the large iron cannon which they possessed.f The besiegers per- 
ceiving their design, continued a steady fire against the men em- 
ployed in making the platform. On this and the following day the 
work was, notwithstanding, carried on and completed. 

The besieged fired several cannon on this day, one of which shot 
through the enemy's barricades, behind the School-house, and as there 
were many men there, it is supposed did gi-eat execution. 

By some mistake, the Scotch run to arms, and taking a party of 
their own men for cavaliers, fired upon them, and killed a major before 
their mistake was discovered. 

The Scotch continued to strengthen their works, but did not ex- 
tend them further ; and on the night of Friday the 22d, marched away 
through the park, and w^re replaced by troops commanded by sir J. 
Saville. 

From this time the besiegers regularly brought up parties to Bag- 
hill, which were posted behind the hedges and in the trenches, and 
kept a constant watch on the gariison, and when opportunity offered, 
they poured in their shot, which the besieged in like manner returned. 
In these attacks many lives were lost on both sides ; but it does not 
appear that the besieged were ever able to sally beyond the enemy's 
works, so that from this period they were completely surrounded. 

On receiving intelligence that the king had raised the siege of 
Chester, and obtained some advantages over his enemies, the besieged 
began to indulge the hope that they should be again speedily relieved. 
What gave strength to this hope, was the information which a woman, 
taken by Belwethei', imparted. This woman asserted that the besiegers 
would remain only two or three days longer before the castle, and that 
the troops of the parliament would be collected together, to wait the 
approach of the royal army. Though this information was true as far 
as respected Chester, the conclusion drawn from it was never realized. 
The expectation of the besieged was wholly disappointed by the disas- 
ters which befel the royal army. 

The besiegers received a reinforcement of 150 men, on the 26th. 
They came on the road from of Feri-ybridge to the New Hall, where 
they kept a veiy strong guard. In the night they sent 100 men from the 
upper town to Baghill, where they threw up a trench. While the besieg- 
ers were thus employed in preparing for their own security, the besieged 

t There weis found in the park closes, about thirty years ago, a ball weighine 
fifty-eight pounds and upwards ; and as it must have been diminished by time, it could 
not have weighed less originally, than sixty pounds, ^^'"hethe^ this was the caliber of 
the cannon in the castle, or one possessed by the besiegers, is not certain. Tliere have 
been many balls found in and near the town, of the weight of forty pounds^ 



-> 



HlSTOKt *0F fONTKFRACT, 192^ 

sallied foith in strong parties to prevent the accomplishment of their 
design. About sixty men, commanded by captain Smith, and lieutj 
Saville, sallied out of Swillington tower, up Northgate, where they 
greatly alarmed the enemy, who beat to arms, both in the town andi 
through all their trenches. A brisk fire was kept up on both sides fot' 
about half an hour, and the besieged retreated without any loss. 
Another party sallied out of the east gate at the same time and drov^ 
the besiegers from their sentries to their works, near the New Hall* 

The besiegers carried on their works on Baghill, and kept about 
one hundred men stationed there, who were regularly relieved by th^ 
same number fzom the upper town. So vigilant were the besiegers 
on Baghill, and so vigorous and constant their fire, that the besieged 
were closely confined ; nor could they send out their cattle to graze 
without extreme danger. 

The garrison now began to suffer many privations, and fresh meat 
was considered a great luxuiy. On Sunday the 27th, some of the be- 
-sieged seeing three hogs, which had strayed down to the Broad Lan^ 
end, rushed out of the barbican, and at the hazard of their lives, drove 
them into the castle. This incident shews more clearly than any lan- 
guage the state of the garrison. 

During the night the enemy employed 1 00 men in completing th^ 
trenches on Baghill, and on the foUov^^ing morning these were relieved 
by loO from the town, who continued at the same work through the* 
whole of the day, 

A party of the besiegers' horse drew up about noon, and marched 
through the park to Ferrybridge ; on seeing which, a number of bold 
and resolute men rushed out of the castle, without any commander, 
and bravely assaulted a troop under sir J. Saville ; gave an alarm to 
their guard at New Hall, and having killed and wounded as many of 
tiie enemy as equalled their whole number, they retreated with safety 
to the castle. 

During the night of the 28th, the besiegers employed at least 
three hundred men on their intrenchments at Baghill. The next morii-' 
ing, the garrison, to preserve some of their cattle alive, ventured ta 
send a few of them, to graze around the castle j but the enemy's works* 
. being now so near, they were soon compelled to drive them backy 
with the loss of one cow and two horses. 

The governor, hearing nothing satisfactory of the king's affairs, 
and perceiving the increasing force of the enemy, came to a resolu^ 
tion to send four of his officers to Newark, to inform his majesty oi 
the state of the garrison, and, if possible, to obtain relief. In thef 
liight of the 29th, the four offieers departed ffom the castle, attended 

fi B 



194 HISTORY OF PONTEFRAeT. 



j by twenty musketeers, who attacked the enemy up Northgate, wliilfe 

I their friends pushed foi-ward and cleared their lines. 

Gn the 30th, the besiegers relieved their guard on Baghill, with 
I one hundred and fifty men at least, and through the whole of the day 

a heavy fire was kept up on both sides. The besieged had one horse kil- 
led in the barbican, and the enemy had several men killed and wounded 
by the musketry from theround tower. During the night the besiegers 
feurntahouse, called HiUhall house, occupied by one Gates, on Monk- 
hill ; and another small house near the castle walls. The poor inhabit- 
ants were thiis expelled from their cottages ; and at this unhappy period: 
were not only exposed alternately to the rapacity of the besiegers and 
tJie |)esieged, but compelled to seek a peaceable abode elsewhere.- 

Gn Thursday the 1st of May, the enemy relieved their guard onr 
Baghill, and began to erect a strong triangular work, which they 
walled with stone aud filled with earth. The besieged planted their 
cannon against this' work, and by a well directed shot greatly annoyed- 
the enemy. Within the work the officers and men were regaling 
tliemselves with ale, but on the discharge of the cannon they betook 
themselves to their deep trenches. 

Several sallies were made by small parties against the besiegers 
at Monkhill ; and as these parties were covered by the fire of the cas- 
tle, their loss was commonly much inferior to that of the enemy. The 
troops of sir J. Saville were this day several times driven from their- 
works, with the loss of a few killed and wounded. In the after- 
noon three of the garrison, without orders, issued forth against the 
enemy. They- garve fire freely, and displayed the greatest personal 
courage and resolution. They continued their assault, till the enemy 
began to collect, when they reti-eated, exposed to their fire. One of 
them, Nathaniel Sutton, a barber, was shot through the shoulder inta 
the body, and instantly fell. Another, captain Pent, was wounded, 
receiving a fracture in the skull, but recovered again. A ball entered 
the doublet and grazed up the back of the third, who had stooped t» 
avoid the fire of the enemy, by which his life was preserved. 

The enemy cut down the branches of the trees, and made blinds 
at the ends of their work on Baghill, where they placed a long drake, 
belonging to sir J. Saville's troops, and on the following morning 
©pened afire on the castle, but after having fired about eight times it 
was removed again. The besiegers lost in killed and wounded this 
day near twenty men ; and the besieged had one man shot in the head, 
who instantly expired. They also suffered a loss in one of their oxen, 
which the enemy shot whilst grazing ; but a party from the castle suc- 
ceeded in bringing it off. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFllACr. Wh 

On the 3rd, there was little firing on either side, llie enemy 
Icept close in their trenches, and the besieged, in the castle. The lat- 
ter, however, were more straitened, and the loss they sustained from 
the destruction of their cattle began to be more severely felt. They 
had two oxen and a mare shot on this day, but secured the carcasses. 

A deserter fled into the castle on the following day, and gave the 
besieged information respecting the state and numbers of the enemy. 
A number of royalists who had been taken prisoners, near Newark, 
were brought to Pontefract, and exchanged for an equal number of 
Ihe enemy within the castle. 

On the 5th, and some following days, the enemy relieved their 
guard on Baghill, with not more than thirty or forty men, and from 
.this part of their works there was very little firing. On Monkhill they 
made ways through all the houses which they had burnt, till they came 
to one which had been occupied by a widow Tupman, where they kept 
their centries, and from whence they continued a constant fire. From 
their works in Paradise Orchard, in the Trinities, and from alderman 
Lunn's and Rusby's houses, they continued a heavy and vigorous fire 
against the round tower, and the north part of the castle, vrhich the 
besieged returned, and partial losses were sustained on both sides. 

On the 8th, persons were sent into the north to give intelligence 
to their friends of the state of the castle, and on this day, captain 
Horsfall sent express to Sandall. At the relieving of the guard there 
was always great firing, because both in going and coming they 
were exposed to the view of the castle. Having in a measure rested 
on their arms for a few days, on the 9th, each party recommenced a 
strong and galling fire. The besieged shot an officer and one soldier 
at their works, at the top of Broad Lane. The name of the officer was 
captain Coulartes. The besiegers, in order to complete their lines, 
about four o'clock in the afternoon, set fire to several houses and barns 
in different parts of the town. From Northgate towards Micklegate, 
they set on fire two barns, which were joined together, the one be- 
longing to Mr, Shillito, the mayor, and the other to Mr. Batley. — 
From thence they proceeded in consuming all the houses and malt- 
houses, till they reached Micklegate, amongst Vvhich were several 
excellent buildings ; particularly one newly erected, belonging to Mr. 
Batley. They then crossed the street, and set fire to alderman Wil- 
kinson's house. The fire of these houses and barns, raged with vio- 
lence during the whole of the night ; and the besieged fired several 
cannon into the town, which did considerable execution, and added to 
the horror of the scene. 

The enemy had suffered much from the sallies of the besieged^ 



196 HISTORY OF POMEFRACr, 

from Svvillington tower, and they now determined to confine the gar^ 
rison by the erection of strong works on Monkhill, which laying north 
east of the castle upon the road from Ferrybridge and Castleford, and 
being as high almost as the castle, and within musket shot, was deem- 
ed a very suitable post to erect a work upon ; and particularly for the 
prevention of the sallies from Swillington tower. Having formed the 
resolution, they carried it into execution on Saturday the 10th May, 
The work was in the form of a half moon or crescent, and while it af- 
forded protection to the besiegers, it considerably annoyed the besieg- 
ed, Jf they made a sally up Northgate they were exposed to the fire 
of the enemy, from Monkhill ; and the most determined valour of the 
besieged was unavailing. The enemy, however, dared scarcely look 
out from this trench and the one on Baghill, for both places vrere so 
very much exposed to the castle, and were within so short a distance, 
that they were rendered very dangerous. The besieged too, being 
continually on the alert, scarcely suffered one day to elapse without 
some of them on these hills, falling ^'ictims to their cannon, their long 
fowling or sling pieces. 

It is impossible to ascertain what human nature can endure, when 
f5upported by the pleasing delusion of hope, or animating by the ener- 
gy of a part5vspirit. The more men suffer in the cause they have es- 
poused, the stronger their attachment frequently becomes ; the im- 
portance or glory of the cause is thought suflBcient to justifj'^ all the 
sacrifices they make, or all the suffei'ings they endure in its support. 
The truth of this remark is established by the spirit of the garrison, on 
the evening of Monday the 12th. While recounting their deeds of 
valour, and conversing on the cause they had hitherto maintained, a 
general enthusiasm was enkindled ; and not having any more reviving 
liquors, they drew water ft-om the new well, which they had finished 
this day, and drank the health of the king, and of all his good friends. 
Tliey pledged one another, and engaged to be faithful, and hold out 
the castle to the last extremity. On receiving these pledges, they 
rent the air with shouts and halloos. The besiegers, on hearing the 
noise of rejoicing, run to their arms, drew up their horse, and dou- 
t)led their guai'ds, supposing that either a vigorous sally would be 
jnade, or that the garrison had received some good news. The tattoo 
in the castle, at length relieved the enemy from their fears, and the 
night passed in tranquillity. 

The following day a strong fire was kept up on both sides. The 
besiegers had two killed and several wounded. The loss they daily 
sustained, made them keep close within their trenches ; and they 
rarely made their appearance, imless when they relieved their guards 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACt. 197 

The besieged observed the enemy send off toward Ferrybridge, three 
or four waggons loaded with goods, which led them to believe that 
they were preparing to depart. What strengthened their belief was, 
that on the following day the enemy drove a considerable number of 
sheep and cattle the same road ; but it was afterwards learnt, that 
these were sent to Yoi-k, for supplying the troops there with victuals. 
The garrison on this day were deprived for a season of the services of 
cornet Thurley, who, while standing in the Barbican, was wounded 
by a shot in the arm. 

14th. — Captain Tully, with a party of men, marched from the 
castle to Sandal, to give informati6n of the state of the castle. The 
enemy received a reinforcement of a troop of horse from Doncaster, 
which joined the main guard at the New Hall. The whole of the ene- 
my's horse was afterv/ards drawn up in the park ; and their number 
appeared considerable. The losses the besiegeis sustained were soon 
made up by the arrival of fresh troops, while the garrison was gradu- 
ally diminished in numbers, and still more weakened by the privations 
they suffered . 

The enemy on the 14th, erected a new work at the bottom of Abbey 
Close, betwixt the work on Monkhill and the upper town, for the pur- 
pose of defending the intercourse betwixt the works, and impeding the 
besieged from sending out scouts that way, to gain intelligence. 

On Thursday the 15th, a party from the castle sallied out of the 
east gate to the low church, in order to obtain some wood for firing. 
Two lieutenants of the enemy observed them, but before they could 
retreat, or bring up any of their own men to their assistance, they 
were attacked, and lieutenant Thompson, after being wounded, was 
taken and brought a prisoner into the castle. About two hours after- 
wards a drum was sent to propose an exchange of Mr. Thompson for 
an officer of the same rank, who was a prisoner at Cawood. About 
twelve o'clock at night Belwether, who had been sent to Newark seven 
days before, returned and brought letters from his majesty containing 
joyful news. As the king had now a respectable army, and was push- 
ing forward into the southern counties, where it was conceived he 
would possess a decided superiority, it is probable the letters received 
had a reference to this subject. 

The news the garrison received inspired them with fresh courage, 
and on the following day a vigorous sally was made to Monkhill, and 
the enemy were driven from their works to their main- guard, at New 
Hall. Another party attacked the work below the old church, but the 
enemy having intelligence of their intentions previously, drew about 
thirty men from the barn in the grange, and commenced a brisk fire 



198 HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT. 

upon them. The party from the castle retired to a close and thick 
■orchard, from whence they returned the fire for near half an hour, and 
then retreated into the castle. In the night another party issued from the 
castle, intending to destroy the new work of the enemy in the abbey 
closes. The besiegers had by some means received information of their 
design, and had lined all the hedges with infantry ; so that the moment 
the party from the garrison sallied out, they were exposed to a brisk and 
heavy fire. They returned the fire for some time with spirit, and then 
retreated in safety, having only two men slightly wounded. It was sup- 
posed that a woman, who had gone out of the castle, had given intelli- 
gence of their intended attack, and thus fnisti'ated their design. 

The next day the besiegers had one man shot from the round 
tower, in the market-place ; and the besieged suffered a similar loss of 
a man, who was going out of Swillington tower. .A drummer was 
sent from the town, and a trumpeter from the lord Montgomery's 
brother, to the castle. The latter was ordered to the governor's cham- 
ber, and after a stay of half an hour was sent back. He informed the 
besieged that the parliamentary troops did not exceed eight thousand 
men, in all the surrounding country. 

On Sunday the 18th, after attending prayers and sermon in the 
castle, the governor ordered all the men to their arms. Old Major 
Warde was sent to the new mount, within the barbican, to watch the 
towers, that none might make any signal with hat, hand, or hand- 
kerchief, or any other thing, to give the enemy notice of their pro- 
ceedings. Captain Smith, captain Flood, ensign Killingbeck, and 
sergeant Barton, went out first over the drawbridge towards Monkhiil. 
Captain Smith, with a detachment of thirty infantry, went up Denwell 
Lane, and to the outworks on the north side of Monkhiil, and having 
beat the enemy from thence, scoured the trenches to the lowest work. 
Captain Flood and ensign Killingbeck, with fifty men, charged up the 
high street to Monkhiil top, firing the houses as they marched on- 
wards. They demolished the works of the enemy, which they enter- 
ed on the front side, whilst captain Smith entered at the back. Cap- 
tain Munroe, ensign Ottoway, and sergeant Coopland, with thirty 
men, sallied out immediately after the other parties, and marched 
close by the old church, to the lowest works of the enemy, which they 
immediately stormed and beat them from thence, killing several. — 
They then set fire to the adjoining houses, and charged up the lane to 
the grange barn, in which were several soldiers, who were drinking 
healths after dinner to the upper house of parliament. These were 
instantly attacked, and every man slain. From thence they proceeded 
towards their Monkhiil work, and joined the other parties at the head 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRAC'I 



im 



of Cherry Orchard, near the New Hall. Lieutenant Galbrieth, lieu- 
tenant Williamson, and lieutenant Warde, with sixty musketeers, 
were stationed at the low church ; and major Warde, and lieutenant 
Faville, with forty musketeers, lined the walls in the low barbican. 
These formed a corps de reserve, designed to assist their friends irt 
case the enemy had marched to the aid of their companions, either 
from the town or from Baghill. Captain Beal, with twenty horse, 
marched up to the trenches at Monkhill, but was unable to effect a: 
passage. The different parties succeeded in every direction, and be- 
ing all united, near the New Hall, charged the enemy at the very 
gates, driving the remainder from all their trenches, over St. Thomas'" 
Hill, towards Ferrybridge. In this assault the enem}'^ lost about sixty 
men killed, and as many wounded. 

The party from the castle, on their return, siezed the hats, swords, 
muskets, lialberts, drums, saddles, shades, &c. belonging to those 
they had slain, and brought them into the castle. They likewise rifled 
their pockets, and as their own pay was much in arrear, the little 
they obtained afforded a seasonable supply. In every trench they 
fovmd a bag of powder and some match, which had been left by those 
who fled. On the part of the garrison cornet Blackley was the only 
officer who was mortally wounded at Cherry Orchard head, and being 
brought into the castle, died the same night. He was a volunteez-, 
and was reputed to be a gallant and brave soldier. Only one private 
was slain, and another being wounded was taken prisoner. About 
nine o'clock in the evening, the enemy sent two waggons loaded with, 
the wounded to Ferrybridge, and about the same hour the victorious 
parties reached the castle in safety. 

The loss the besiegers had sustained checked their ardom-, and 
abated their courage. The following day they lay close in their 
trenches, and scarcely one man appeared. The besieged having beheld 
a great fire on Sandal castle on the night of the 18th, and being en- 
couraged by their successes on that day, raised great shouts from the 
towers, and by crying out ' a prince, a prince,' alarmed the enemy,^ 
who immediately doubled their guards, fetched- jjp their horses from 
grass, saddled them and drew up in Grange lane. A strong party 
came from the town to Baghill, and another to New Hall, to strength- 
en their guards there. During these movements the besieged shot 
several of the enemy. 

The besieged had their losses soon repaired by the arrival of con- 
siderable reinforcements, both of foot and horse. They came from 
Feriybridge by a circuitous march, under the hill from Darrington, 
to the West Field, and from thence into the park. The besieged had 



200 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

their eye upon all their motions, and fired their cannon from Trea-* 
surer's tower against them. The shot killed two men, and the rest 
marched off hehind the park ridge, where they abode. The fire of 
musketry from the round tower annoyed the enemy in their woi'ks at 
Baghill, and several fell there. 

On Wednesday the 21st, being a very rainy day, both parties con- 
tinued quiet till the afternoon. A small part of the besieged went ta 
the low church to obtain wood, and the enemy immediately opened a 
vigorous fire in all directions upon them, which compelled them to re- 
treat without accomplishing their object. At the same time about 
five hundred men, with drums beating and colours flying, marched 
thro-ugh the lower part of the park, in single files, to the New Hall, to 
relieve their guards there. The troops commanded by sir J. Saville, 
amounting to 300 men, had been kept on constant duty from their first 
arrival. They had scarcely ever enjoyed a night's repose, and had suf- 
fered severely by the different sallies the garrison had made. They now 
quitted the dangerous post they had for some time occupied, and in 
the evening marched into the town, where they found the repose and 
refreshments nature demanded. Wm. Belwether was sent this evening 
towards Newark, to give intelligence of the state of the garrison. 

The governor received letters from his majesty and sir M. Lang- 
dale, on the 22d, conveying the pleasing informatian that the king was 
advancing from Brough-hill, near Northampton, to the relief of 
the castle.- On receiving this intelligence, the expectation of the gar- 
rison was raised, and they accompanied their friends coming to their 
assistance * with hearty desires and earnest prayers for a prosperous^ 
blessing upon their endeavours.' One Hanson also arrived from San- 
dal castle in the night, confirming this information. 

Whether the king, at this period, had any real intention of sending 
a part of his troops to raise the siege of the castles of Pontefract and 
Sandal, or whether the letters sent were only designed to raise the 
hopes of the garrison, and encourage them to a vigorous defence, till 
opportunity occurred of affording them effectual assistance, is not cer- 
tain ; but the latter appears most probable, as the king was now march- 
ing with all his forces into Leicestershire. 

On the following day the enemy kept up their fire from Baghill 
against the castle, but did no execution. The besieged received infor- 
mation from Skipton castle and Latham hall, in Lancashire, that these 
places which had been reduced to the greatest distress for want of pro- 
visions, had been happily relieved, and had obtained a supply of sixty 
head of cattle and other necessaries. On the same day there came inta 
the castle, one Blagbourn, a clothier, and another tenant of major 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 201 

Beaumont's, who rejoiced much at the welfare of their landlord. The 
garrison considered this as a favourable sign, that they should soon 
be relieved, as these tenants evidently came to regain the favour of 
their landlord, in case such an event should restore him to his estates 
and liberties. In the night a fire was made on the top of Sandal castle', 
which was answered by one from the round tower of Fontefract castle, 
by which it was considered that good news had been received. Thus 
both castles being besieged at the same time, within, six miles of each 
other, they animated one another to persist in their defence. The 
governor received information that the garrison in Scarboro' castle 
had made a vigorous and successful sally, in which the besiegers had 
lost three hundred men, and that all their cannon had been spiked. — 
On this day captain Washington and lieutenant Wheatley, marched out 
to Sandal castle. About three o'clock in the morning of the 24th, the 
besiegers commenced a dreadful fire against the round tower, which 
continued for the greatest part of the day, crying out * a Cromwell, a 
Cromwell,' and telling the soldiers in the garrison, that a Cromwell 
followed the king in the rear. It was supposed they were irritated on 
account of the fire the besieged had kindled on the round tower the 
preceding night, and the joy they discovered on receiving intelligence 
of his majesty's success. The besieged were in suspense, and did not 
know whether the enemy were now preparing to take the castle by 
storm, before the army of the king came up to their assistance ; they 
however resolved, in case of such an attempt, to defend it as long as 
possible, and to surrender it only with their lives. 

They then set fire to two or three houses in Northgate, and seve- 
ral others at the water mill below the castle ; and, about five o'clock 
in the afternoon, five soldiers of the castle went down to the old 
church, where a small party of the enemy were stationed. They did 
not wait the attack, but all shamefully fled except one lieutenant, who 
kept them from entering for a time, by throwing stones ; until 
at length one Thomas Lowther, a bold and courageous soldier, of the 
garrison, closed in upon the lieutenant, and. would have taken him pri- 
soner, had he not been at that moment shot through the bone of the 
leg by a bullet, which the enemy perceiving, hastened to take him. 
They were, however, repulsed by his three companions, who with much 
difficulty brought him to the castle, where he suff"ered amputation that 
night, and speedily recovered. 

On this day a poor woman, whilst gathering pot-herbs, was slightly 
wounded in the thigh by a shot from the enemy ; and one John Nel- 
son, a tailor about twelve years old, being sent across the street for 
some ale in a flaggon, was returning with it, and had got within the 

c c 



202 



HISTORY OF PONTEPRACT. 



threshold of the door, when a cannon bullet struck off his leg. Yet Re 
did not fall, but hopped in with the ale. 

The besieged received letters this day, informing them that the 
army of the king, which consisted of fifteen thousand men was divid- 
ed, and that one half, under the command of prince Maurice, was- 
marching to raise the siege of Carlisle, and the other under his ma- 
jesty, was coming to their assistance- 

ITie enemy continued their fire all the night, and the next morn- 
ing, they poured in whole voUies, from every quarter against the 
castle. They rent the air with the cries of a Cromwell ! a Cromwell T 
They had received intelligence that Cromv/ell was marching in his 
majesty's rear. Thus the hopes of each party were alternately en- 
couraged and depressed. The besiegers set fire to two or three houses 
in Northgate, and to the watermill in Bondgate, together with a few 
other houses. The reason of this severity is suipposed to have been t©^ 
compel the inhabitants to pay, a contribution, which the enemy had 
laid upon the town, and with which they very reluctantly complied. 

On the 26th, being Whitsun-Monday, the iron gun in the castli^ 
was removed from the mount before the gates, and planted on the 
platform, without the upper gates, from whence it was discharged 
against the sentry house, near alderman Rusby's ; and the shot striking 
the house with great forbe, alarmed the inmates to such a degree, that 
from forty to sixty persons ran out at the same time in great conster- 
nation. They also planted a little drake on Swillington tower, which 
they played against the enemy's guard at Paradise orchard, but did 
Httle execution. 

On this day a man called William Tubb, and a boy, along with 
many others, went out of the castle to cut grass for the cattle, and im- 
prudently venturing too near the enemy, the boy was wounded by a 
ball, \vhich passed through his cheek. The man Was taken prisoner by 
the enemy, who perceiving that he was an ignorant clown, gave him 
ale till he was nearly intoxicated, in order to obtain from him an 
acco\int of the number of the garrison, the quantity of their ammuni- 
tion, provision, &(s but he either gave an exaggerated account, or 
evaded the questions put to him, and as they were conveying him to 
their principal guard house, at New-Hall, he slipt from them and 
regained the castle. 

Captain Washington retui'ned fi'om Sandal, and brought the news 
of prince Rupert being before Manchester, with a design to relieve 
West Chester, which caused the soldiers in the garrison, not to make 
any more fires on the round tower. 

The besieged on the 27th, played their cannon against the enemy's 



HiSTORV OF PONTEFEACT. 203 

trenches, near Mr. Rusby's, and Mr. Gates' houses in the Market-place* 
One of the enemy, whilst carelessly walking on Primrose Close, under 
Baghill, and smoaking his pipe, was killed by a musket shot from the 
castle. A poor little girl, who was feeding a cow under Swiiliu^tou 
tower, was wounded by the enemy in the thigh, but recovered. 

In the night of the 27th, about twelve o'clock, lieutenant Wheat- 
ley, who had been sent along with captain Washington, a few days 
before to Sandal castle, returned to the castle with between forty and 
fifty horse. On his march he had met with two of the enemy's scouts, 
and taken them prisoners, bringing them to the castle. They had 
also met with one hundred and twenty or thirty head of cattle, wMeh 
they had driven before them, and if they could but succeed in getting 
them into the castle, they would be supplied with provisions for some 
time. It was no easy thing to effect this on account of the enemy's 
works and strong guards, with which the castle was now surrounded, 
and the constant lowing of the herd in the Chequer field. Necessity 
prompted the garrison to make the attempt, whatever it might CQ3t 
them, or whatever might be the event 

Captain Wheatley had left the cattle in Chequer field, while he 
had pushed forward with all the speed of his horse to give the garrison 
information. It was agreed that the cattle should be brought from 
the Chequer field, by way of Carlton, on the public road to Bag- 
hill ; and that when they came near, he should cry out, a prince I a 
prince ! to arms ! to arms ! All the great guns were fired against the 
enemy's works, and being the signal for a sally, diiferent parties is- 
sued forth to aid in bringing in the cattle. Captain Flood, captain 
Ogleby, and lieutenant Killingbeck, with fifty musketeers, were com- 
manded to Baghill, with orders to the hill-side, close under the ene- 
my's works, to keep up a constant fire upon them, and prevent thejn 
from sallying forth, which they bravely and courageously performed. 
Lieutenant colonel Talbrieth, with lieutenant Smith and lieutenant 
Warde, followed them up the hill with forty musketeers, to the ene- 
my's works at the little round close called Primrose close, which was 
situated near the highway under Baghill, from whence they soon com- 
pelled the enemy to retreat to their strong trenches on Baghill. Cap- 
tain Smith, and lieutenant Qgleby, with thirty musketeers, passed on 
the bottom to face the lower work of the enemy at Broad lane end, 
and to prevent them from affording any assistance to those on duty jat 
Baghill. Meanwhile, another party under the command of captain 
Munroe, captain Barthrome, and sergeant Barton, issued forth from 
the east gate to the enemy's works below the church, and prevented 
them from coming from Monkhill, or New-hall. The different parties 



204 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

having reached theii- stations, and fully succeeded in checking the 
enemy, captain Joshua Walker, with about twenty-five snap-haunches,* 
and firelock, went up the closes, on the south side of the low church, 
and turned eastward towards the highway, to Baghill, where he met 
the cattle, which the valiant soldiers of Sandal castle delivered to 
them, all then returning except about ten or twelve, who assisted cap- 
tain Walker to drive the cattle down to the castle. Anxious to place 
the cattle in safety, before the enemy could collect in numbers suffi- 
cient to prevent it, they drove them down the hill with such haste, 
that they lost thirty or forty, which of course fell into the hands of the 
enemy. They however secured the possession of ninety-seven, which 
would enable them to hold out the castle for some time. 

The cattle having reached the castle, the drums beat a retreat, and 
all the different parties of the garrison returned in good order, with 
much joy, without having suffered the loss of a man killed, having 
only one wounded, although the commander could scarce!)' restrain 
the men from storming the great work on Baghill. 

The orders which the governor had given to the different parties, 
demonstrated his prudence and the solidity of his judgment. Had 
the different parties, instead of keeping the enemy in check, fallen 
upon them, it is probable they would have been compelled to retreat, 
and thus have failed to accomplish their design. 

The besieged now gave vent to their joy, for having obtained such 
essential relief, and in a manner so unexpected. They kindled bon- 
fires on the tops of all the towers in the castle, and commenced a 
heavy fire against the enemy's works in all directions. 

The besiegers the next day commenced a heavy fire against the 
castle, but did not the least injury to the besieged. They seemed to 
he ashamed of their conduct on the past night, in being so great a 
body, and yet suffering the castle to be supplied with such a relief. 
They informed the governor, Overton, that 500 men had escorted 
the cattle. Fear, as it magnifies danger, often multiplies the number 
of an enemy, and justifies the inactivity, not to say cowardice, of 
those under its influence. The besiegers might have found a better 
reason for their conduct than what they assigned. They might with 
truth have said, ' That being ignorant of the strength of the enemy, 
they judged it more proper to remain on the defensive, than to desert 
their lines, and expose themselves wholly to their fire.' 

Overton, the governor, sent a drum and three women, M'ho were, 

* Sir Thomas Beaumont, in a letter dated from Pontcfract, June 7, 1643, answcr.-- 
onc he had received — ' for the Match you write for, I shall shortly send you some ; but 
I put 3,'ou in mind once mure, to wse your Snaphance Pieces to keep eentery with, as that will 

tave our Match.' 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 205 

as they pretended, owners of the cattle, with a letter to governor Low- 
ther, demanding- the cattle, or a composition for them in money ; 
but the governor, conceiving the letter to be an insult, as it was written 
in a peremptory and commanding style, replied, ' if they could take 
the castle, they might have all the cattle, otherwise they should not 
have the least beast under forty pounds. 

In the night the men who came from Sandal, went out of the cas- 
tle, with an intention to return, but some of the garrison, who attended 
them, having their matches lighted, the enemy took the alarm ; and 
commencing a brisk fire, compelled them to return to the castle. The 
enemy, during the night, raised a strong barricado across the lane, 
leading to Baghill, in order to prevent the garrison from sallying forth 
in that direction. They also set fire to a house at the lower end of 
Northgate, which continued to burn for above two days and nights. 

On Thursday, the 29th, the garrison lost one of their number. 
The governor in order to preserve the cattle alive, allowed four-pence 

.,, to each man who cut and brought into the castle a burden of grass. 

K Some, to obtain this trifling reward, exposed themselves to the fire of 
the enemy. The man who was this day killed, had cut six burdens of 
grass, and brought them to the castle. Resolved to cut one more, he 
was shot by the enemy, and afterwards run through with the bayonet. 
The enemy relieved their guard at New-Hall with three hundred 
men from the town ; and there came back to the town three hundred 
and eighty men, marching in single files, through the Abbey Closes. 
During the night they erected a new triangular work, in the upper 
closes above Den well, near to Svvillington tower, to check the garrison 
from sallying forth from that quarter. On the following day the be- 
sieged fired their drake from Swillington tower six times against this 
work, and compelled the enemy to flee to their trenches. They, how- 
ever, returned during the night and repaired the damage which had 
heen done to their work, and rendered it tenable for the future. They 
set fire to some houses in Northgate, and made a barricado across the 
lane by which the cattle was driven, to prevent the like in future. A 
woman on this day standing in the Market-place, was unfortunately 
killed by a musket ball from the round tower. The iron piece was 
fired during the day at the enemy's works behind the houses of 
Mr. Rusby and Mr. Lund. 

On Saturday the 31st, the besieged kept a constant fire from the 
different towers of the castle against the enemy. They played their 
cannon against the guard-houses, which it was supposed did great exe- 
cution. 

The 1st of June was a joyful day to the garrison. Having attend- 



206 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

cd divine sei*vice, the governor informed them, that he had received 
letters from sir M. Langdale, which contained the intelligence that he 
had beat in the enemy at Derby, and summoned them to surrender, 
and that the king and his friends were every where successful. The 
garrison considered this information as the prelude of their own 
speedy relief, and final triumph over their enemies. 

On Monday the 2d, governor Lowther sent Mr. Massey into the 
town, to governor Overton, to propose and agree concerning the ex- 
change of prisoners, who had been taken at Hull and other places. 
Overton granted all that was demanded, and sent for them with speed. 
During the time Massey continued with the governor, an officer came 
and informed that the men were almost in a state of mutiny 
and that it was with difficulty they could be induced to obey orders. 
In the night the enemy threw flp another work in the closes below 
Baghill, against the low church, in the fonn of a half moon. They 
had now formed double lines around the castle, and were kept on such 
constant duty, that a spirit of disaffection generally prevailed, and 
many deserted. 

On the 3d, the governor received letters from Newark, which con- 
veyed the intelligence of his majesty's success at Leicester, The 
country people, on the approach of the royal army, had carried all 
their moveables into that city, conceiving that a vigorous resistance 
would have been made ; and that before the city could be taken, the 
aiiny of the parliament would relieve it. The king no sooner appeared 
before the city, than he began to batter the walls ; and a breach being 
made, he assaulted the town on all sides, and after a desperate attack, 
the soldiers rushed in, sword in hand, and committed great cruelties 
on the garrison and inhabitants. An immense booty fell into their 
hands, which they took and divided among them. The loss of the 
€nemy was great, and fifteen hundred prisoners were taken. On this 
success, his majesty wrote to the queen, that his affairs were never in 
so hopeful a posture since the rebellion. The hopes of the gai'iison 
here, were highly raised on hearing of this splendid victory, and the 
spirit of the besiegers was proportionably depressed. 

The garrison had a few wounded this day by the enemy's musket- 
ry ; and the enemy had several killed by grape shot, dischai'ged from 
the cannon in the castle. 

On the Wednesday night following, the 4th, the besiegers began 
another work, more eastward, and at a little distance from the new 
one erected on the 2d, neai- Mr. Stables' orchard, in the fields below 
Baghill, and the castle's guns fired several times, doing great execu- 
tion amongst the soldiers whilst erecting it, and the besieged seeing a 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 20/ 

fire on Sandal castle, answered it by another from the round tower. 
From this circumstance they inferred ^that his majesty's forces had 
obtained another victory. 

On the 5th, a boy, an apprentice to Mr. Richard Stables, went 
from the castle to cut grass for the cattle, and was unfortunately 
wounded by a shot, which went through the arm, and part of the shoul- 
der. He, however, recovered without suffering amputation. The ene- 
my had five ensigns and several privates killed. 

The besiegers received a reinforcement of horse on the 6th, from 
Doncaster ; and several troops were drawn up about the town. The 
garrison discovered four of the enemy in the mill under the castle, who 
were stealing the iron from the works ; and a few running to the mill, 
three of the men fled, and one was taken prisoner. He informed the 
garrison that a body of the king's troops were pushing forward to their 
relief, and had already reached Tuxford ; — that in consequence, the 
troops of the parliament were retreating, and would probably assemble 
in this neighbourhood, where a general engagement was expected. 
This intelligence was confirmed by the arrival of about 400 horse on 
the 8th, who in consequence of the approach of the king's forces had 
judged it advisable to withdraw from their quarters at Tickhill, Ros- 
sington, Doncaster and Halifax. Some troops of these horse were 
stationed at Cridling-Stubbs and Knottingley, and a part went over 
Methley bridge, towards Leeds. 

On the 9th, the besieged heard distinctly the firing of cannon, 
which they supposed to be near Sheffield, and of course concluded 
their friends were drawing near. What encouraged the garrison and 
confirmed them in this opinion, was, that in the night they beheld a 
fire on the top of Sandal castle, the usual sign of good news. The be- 
sieged had one man slightly wounded, and by their fire from the cas- 
tle killed several of the enemy. 

The besiegers kept a strong guard of horse at New-Hall, which 
they relieved in the evening. At the same time came two horsemen 
at full speed into the town. They brought letters to governor Over- 
ton ; and a drum reported at the lower Barbican wall, that the troops 
of the king had taken Derby. 

The enemy, on the 10th, began another work in a close near Bag- 
hill, called Moody's close, designing to check the garrison, and pre- 
vent any relief being afforded. They began also another near Swil- 
lington tower, but the fire of the besieged compelled them to desist, 
and flee to their works. They also received a reinforcement from 
Doncaster which were drawn up in a body at Carlton . One troop march- 
ed to South Hardwick ; another came from Darrington, and marched 



208 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

into the town ; and a third came from Ferr5'bridge, marcliing into ih« 
park. 

On Wednesday the Uth, the forenoon was spent without much 
firing on either side. About two o'clock, the governor ordered all the 
men in the castle to arms, which thej"^ readily obeyed. A heavy show- 
er of rain compelled them to seek shelter for some time. After having 
received their orders, they sallied forth in different directions. Cap- 
tain Munroe led out the first company, consisting of lieutenant 
Moore, sergeant Barton, and thirty musketeers. These went down 
to the church, but^nding no men in it, they passed through it to Mr. 
Kellam's house, where a party of the enemy was- stationed. Here cap- 
tain Munroe remained to prevent the enemy from sallying forth from 
their works below the church, but at his approach they fled. 

Captain Smith, captain Flood, lieutenants Killingbeck and Otto- 
way, with thirty musketeers, passed thi'ough Mr. Stable's house, and 
so proceeded up to the new work the enemy had erected, at the top 
of Mr. Stale's orchard. Captain Smith led his company first to the 
work, and then passed under cover of the hedge beyond it, where he 
took his station to prevent the enemy from sallying out of their upper 
works to the assistance of those in the lower, which post he gallantly 
defended, though exposed to a brisk fire from the enemy. Meanwhile 
captain Flood and his company approached, and attacked the work 
behind, which they found very strong, and exceedingly difficult to en- 
ter. There was but one place of entrance behind, and that so low and 
narrow as to admit only one man at a time when stooping. They how- 
ever, began a heavy fire against the work, and shot in at the port- 
holes. Those within returned the fire, and bravely defended the work, 
till captain Flood having forced the entrance, eight or nine of his sol- 
diers leapt over and captured the captain, sergeant, corporal, and 
eight men, who were severely wounded, — the rest being killed j^ — 
Being thus crowned with success, they retreated with their prisoners 
to the castle. 

Lieutenant Galbrieth, lieutenant Wheatley, and lieutenant Ward, 
with forty volunteers and soldiers, with clubs and muskets, formed a 
corps de reserve, and were stationed in the orchard, near the work; 
in case the enemy should sally to the assistance of their comrades. 

Lieutenant Willowby, lieutenant Middleton, and sergeant Parker, 
with forty musketeers, took post at the houses on the north-side of 
the church, near the Star Inn, and prevented the enemy from coming 
from the Grange-Laith, and Monkhill, which they nobly performed. 

Lieutenant Monck, with sergeant Barton, and musketeers in three 
files passed towai'ds Monkhill, to prevent the enemy from sallying 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 209 

forth from thence. Here a warm contest ensued with the enemy, 
each endeavouring to gain possession of a wall and a hedge, but the 
party from the garrison ultimately prevailed, and repulsed the enemy 
to their works. Lieutenant Monck ordered his men to attack in files, 
and each party having fired fell back, as another supplied its place> 
which led the enemy to believe their number to be much greater 
than it actually was. The besiegers at last retreated to their works 
on Monkhill, and left lieutenant Monck and his party in possession of 
the pass. 

Captain Joshua Walker, with about twenty men armed with snap- 
haunches, or firelocks, in three files, salHed with the first party and 
took possession of the steeple in the church, where, according to their 
orders, they were to remain for the space of twenty-four hours. They 
took with them sufficient provisions, match, powder and bullet, to be 
in readiness to fire, and prevent the enemy from sallying out of their 
works, and to annoy them on their relieving guard. Captain 
Flood then took the work, and a party of the enemy came down to 
drive him from, and re-occupy it, when the party within the steeple 
fired upon them and killed twelve men, among whom were three offi- 
cers, and wounded several others. 

The musketeers, snap-haunches, and some volunteers which re- 
mained in the castle, were commanded to the top of the towers and 
battlements, to watch the motions of the enemy, to annoy them in 
every direction, and to cover the difi'erent parties which had sallied 
forth, by a steady and constant fire. The commanders, officers, and 
other volunteers came down into the Barbican, armed with halbards, 
pikes, clubs, and muskets, to prevent the enemy approaching the 
parties whilst sallying in the various directions. 

The besiegers lost from this sally forty killed, eleven taken pri- 
soners, and a considerable number wounded ; the besieged had only 
two men wounded, one of whom afterwards died, and the other re- 
covered. They brought into the castle a quantity of muskets, pikes, 
powder, shot, match, and ammunition, which they found in thei 
works. 

The relation of these sallies may appear dull and uninteresting to 
those unacquainted with the situation of the castle, and the places oc- 
cupied by the enemy's forts ; but, on tracing out in the plan, the wall 
of circumvallation round the fortress, it will then be thought that 
these sallies were ordered with the greatest circumspection, for the 
whole of the circumvallation on this side was alarmed at once, and the 
enemy was doubtful which of the forts the besieged would attack. — 
Whilst some parties amused the enemy, others stormed the forts, 

P J) 



210 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

whilst a third body prevented their assisting each other. The men 
stationed in the steeple, on the towers, and in the court yard, secured 
the attempt. All the fore contrivances were observed by the conduct 
and valour of the commanders and soldiers, as could be possibly de- 
sired ; and taking into c^^nsidemtion the small number of the royalists, 
no siege was ever maintained with greater gallantry and courage, 
than this of Pontefract castle. 

It had now been carried on for several months, and there appear- 
ed no prospect of its being taken by storm, or surrendered by capitu- 
lation. The parliament was dissatisfied with the commanding officer, 
and the manner in which the siege had been hitherto conducted and 
an order came to lord Fairfax, to remove Sandys, and to appoint general 
Poyntz to the command. 

On Thursday the 12th, lord Fairfax, and general Poyntz cam€ 
from York, attended with a guard of four troops of horse, but they re- 
turned again in the evening. They came to take an account of the 
number of the effective men, and to view the works of the besiegers. 
On this day, they lost several men by the discbarge of grape shot 
from the castle. The besieged kept possession of the low church, and 
captain Munro, with twenty or thirty men, relieved their guard there. 
Captain Warde was slightly wounded in the arm. 

On the 13th, general Poyntz came post fiom York again, and 
took upon him the command. The besieged, in order to relieve their 
guards at the church without danger, began a trench from the lower 
or- east gate, through Mr. Tatham's orehaM, down to the church yard. 
A blind of boughs and sods was made, to extend from the church to 
Mr. Kellam's, running on the south east of it, for a security to the 
soldiers getting grass for the horse and cattle, which they used this 
day with great success, as they brought in not less than one hundred 
burdens. The guard in the church steeple kept up a constant fire 
against the enemy's works, and effectually prevented any attack on 
their own men. On this night lieutenant Willoughby relieved the cas- 
tle. 

The next day the besiegers relieved their guard at New-Hall, with 
three hundred and twenty men from the town ; and on the return of 
the other, three men were killed in the closes below the headlands, 
by a shot of a cannon from treasurer's tower. They also played their 
cannon into the town, and shot through the houses near aldei-man 
Wilkinson's, where many of the enemy were assembled. A young 
man sallied out alone, from the fortress down to the work behind Mr. 
Rusby's, and finding only two men, he shot one and the other fled. 
A woraan^ who was carrying a stand of ale from Monkhill to the 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 21 1 

grange guard, was killed, together with three or four men, by the 
musketry of the guard from the church steeple. Captain Hems worth, 
with twenty-six men, was sent to relieve the guard in the churdh. 

On Saturday the 14th of June, was fought the bloody battle at 
Naseby, in Nottinghamshire, "between the royalists and parliamenta- 
rians. The Tcing himself commanded the main body, prince 'Rupert 
and prince Maurice the right wing, sir Marmaduke Langdale the left, 
the earl of Lindsey and the lord Ashley the right hand reserve, the 
lord Bard and sir George Lisle the left. Of the parliament army, 
Fairfax and Skippon commanded the main body, Cromwell and Rossi- 
ter the right wing, and Ireton the left. The reserves were brought up 
by Rainsborough, Hammond, and Pride. After an obstinate and bloody 
engagement, in a large fallow field on the north west side of Naseby, 
the royal troops were completely routed, and fled towards Leicester. 
On the parliament side were wounded and slain, above one thousand 
officers and private soldiers. Major Skippon and Ireton were severely 
wounded. On the other side, the earl of Lindsey, lord Ashley, and 
colonel Rastol, and many others were wounded. Twenty colonels^ 
officers, and men of note, and six hundred private soldiers of the re- 
serve were slain ; whilst from the main body the enemy took six colon- 
els, eight lieutenant colonels, eighteen majors, seventy captains, 
eight lieutenants, two hundred ensigns, and other inferior officers, 
four thousand five hundred soldiers, and many women, thirteen of the 
king's household servants, four of his footmen, twelve pieces of ord- 
nance, eight hundred arms, forty barrels of powder, two hundred 
carriages, all the bag and baggage, three thousand horses, the king's 
standard, one of the king's coaches, and his cabinet of letters and pa- 
pers, which were afterwards published by parliament. 

Sir Marmaduke Langdale then hastened away from Leicester the 
same night, towards Newark.* 

Previously to this fatal conflict, sir Marmaduke Langdale pre- 
vailed with the king to march with his army into the north, to relieve 
the castle of Pontefract, and reduce the north to obedience. But when 
his majesty was informed that the castle was well supplied, he yielded 
to the advice of prince Rupert and others, who alway wished him to 
keep his army in the south. Had he followed Langdale's advice, he 
would have escaped the horrors of the Naseby fight, in which he lost 
the flower of his army. Sir Marmaduke earnestly pressed the king to 
this northern expedition, and expressed his resentment against all 
those who counselled him to the contrary. 

On Sunday the 15th, a troop of horse passing along Bondgate, the 

* Baker's Chron. 562. 



212 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

besieged played their cannon full upon them from the king's tower, 
killed three men and their horses, and wounded many others. The 
enemy this day sent two waggons loaded with the sick and wounded 
towards Ferrybridge. Captain Cartwright, with twenty-six men, 
relieved the guard in the church this evening, and great firing 
was still kept up at the time of relieving guard. During the night 
the enemy formed a trench on the south side of Mr. Kellam's house, 
to prevent the besieged from cutting grass for th-eir cattle. 

The besieged had, on the morning of the 16th, a boy and a man 
shot, as they were getting apples in an orchard adjoining the castle. 
The boy had been previously shot through the cheek about a week be- 
fore, but was now nearly well. He foolishly called to the enemy from 
the tree, and provoking them, dared them to shoot at him. One of 
them fired, and the same ball went through [the body of the boy, and 
entered the thigh of the man. The boy soon died, but the man after- 
wards recovered. 

On Monday the 16th, general Pojmtz sent an officer, attended by 
a drummer, with another summons to general Lowther, to surrender 
the castle whUst there was hope of mercy, informing him of the im- 
portant victory gained at Naseby, on the 14th, by the parliamentari- 
ans, over the king's troops, who had been completely overthrown ; 
and stating that additional reinforcements were coming to strengthen 
the siege, and he would ultimately be compelled to surrender. The 
governoi' no sooner read the letter than he returned a stout answer by 
word of mouth, " That he neither valued his forces^ nor his mercy ^ 
and instantly ordered the officer to be gone, and impart this informa- 
tion to his generaL 

The governor appears to have wholly discredited the informationj^ 
as he had received letters from colonel Washington, dated June 14th, 
from Newark, conveying the intelligence that his majesty was at that 
period at Melton Mowbray, and intended marching north, and in the 
space of ten days, if all succeeded, would relieve the castle of Ponte- 
fract. On this ground the garrison concluded that the enemy had re- 
ceived false intelligence, or invented the whole in order to intimidate 
the governor, and induce him to capitulate. 

The besiegers received in the afternoon a considerable body of 
forces, which were quartered in, and around the town. They continu- 
ed a brisk fire against the castle, which the besieged as briskly re- 
turned. They fired grape shot against the enemy's works at Baghili, 
fcut what execution it did was not known. The besieged senl 
captain Smith, with twenty njusketeerSj to relieve their guar4 a« the 
church. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 213 

The enemy run a trench through two little closes to the low work 
south of the church, from the little work at the orchard head ; to pre- 
vent the besieged from cutting grass, and endeavoured to enlarge their 
low work, east of Baghill, but the guard of the besieged, in the church, 
discovered their intention, and by a regular fire of musketry from the 
steeple, compelled them to desist, and retreat into their trenches un- 
til night-fall. Captain Smith relieved the church this evening. 

The garrison continued to disbelieve the information respecting 
the defeat of the king. They received letters, which supported their 
hopes, and fully convinced them, that there was no truth in it. It is 
happy for man, that in some circumstances, at least, he has the power 
to believe what he pleases ; and can indulge hopes, which, though 
without foundation, afford him some present gratification. The be- 
sieged felt the influence of this power, at this period ; and hallooing 
and shouting in the castle, as if they had received some good news, 
the enemy run to arms in all quarters, and thus afforded the besieged 
an opportunity of pouring in a heavy fire among them, which did con- 
siderable execution. 

On the 18th, the besieged received two letters from Newark, 
dated the 15th, wherein it was stated that the king, at the head of his 
army, was at Melton-Mowbray, as before mentioned ; that he intend- 
ed to be at Newark on the Tuesday, and to march forward to the re- 
lief of Pontefract. They also brought information that great dissen- 
tion prevailed in the house of commons, and in the city of London, 
which, it was conceived, would tend to the advantage of the royal 
tjause. Whether the letter contained this false intelligence, or the 
whole was an artifice of the governor, to keep up the spirit of the gar- 
lison, is impossible to decide. As the battle of Naseby was fought on 
the 14th, it is scarcely possible, that those in the confidence of his 
majesty, should be suffered to remain so long in ignorance ; unless it 
be supposed that the fatal overthrow had so deranged his majesty's 
affairs, as to cut of all communication. 

General Poyntz, Overton the governor of Pontefract, and other 
general officers, met at Doncaster, and held a council of war, to order 
and arrange the plan of their future operations. The besiegers re- 
mained in their works, and the besieged sent captain Kitchin, with 
twenty musketeers, to relieve the guard in the church. 

On the 19th, general Poyntz, and Overton the governor of Ponte- 
fract, returned from Doncaster. They drew up their men in the 
market-place. On seeing which, the besieged played their cannon full 
among them, but what execution it did was not known. Through the 
whole ofthe day, the: besiegers appeared to be uncommonly busy, and 



214 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

to be preparing for some enterprize of in^jortance. Captain Walker 
relieved the guard in the church, about eleven o'clock in the night. 
They killed four or five of the enemy, and wounded many others, 
which the enemy conveyed away into Mr. Kellam's house. Captain 
Washington and lieutenant Empson, by the command of the govenior, 
marched out of the castle over Denwell closes to Newark, most 
probably to obtain correct information, as well as to learn whether 
any thing could be done for the relief of the castle. 

General Poyntz called a council of war, on Friday the 20th, in the 
to^^^l. In the afternoon, there arrived several loaded waggons at the 
New Hall, in one of which was a demi-culverin, bearing a bullet of 
181bs. weight. There came also a party of infantry, which marched 
in single files through the park into the town. The garrison, on per- 
ceiving the waggons which came on the lane above St. Thomas Hill, 
played their cannon among them, but did little execution. 

The enemy planted a piece of cannon in one of theii* works, and 
directed its whole force against the steeple of the church. Lieutenant 
Smith then relieved the church, and the enemy attacked and routed 
them, and kept possession of the church ; so that the guard were not 
able to come from the steeple. They, however, retired after a short 
time to their works again. 

The besieged received on this day an account of the battle of 
Naseby ; but the account, like a modern gazette of a defeat was pal- 
pably incorrect, and favourable circumstances were added, so as to 
render it rather a victory than a defeat. It was stated that the king 
had been defeated and lost his cannon and baggage ; but that on the 
day following, generals Goring and Janett, had come up with Fairfax, 
and Cromwell, and after a furious and bloody contest, they had put 
them to flight, recovered the canhon and ammunition, and had pm'su- 
ed them nearly to Northampton, and to conclude all, tiiat Cromwell 
was slain. 

On the following day a poor man, whose house had been burnt 
down at MonkhiU, and who had fled to the castle for refuge, was shot 
whilst cutting grass near Monkill, and instantly expired. The body 
was fetched into the castle, and there interred in the evening. 

The enemy this day began to form a platform at MonkhiU, for the 
demi-culverin which had been brought two days before to New H?dl. 
The garrison played at them from the King's tower, but their eflForts 
were not successful. The enemy were protected by the works they 
had already raised, and they wrought with such diligence, that before 
night they had completed the platform. Governor Overton himself 
superintended the work j and in the night they brought up the demi- 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 215 

culverin and five cannon more from New Hall, and planted them 
against the church, on the north side of the castle. They then formed 
another work before the lower castle gate, in order to defend the plat- 
form from the cannon of the besieged. 

The garrison sent lieut. Willoughby, with twenty musketeers 
to relieve the guard at the church ; and a deserter came into the castle 
bringing his firelock and his sword. He infoniaed the besieged, that 
it was reported that the troops of the parliament, though successful 
against his majesty, had since been routed. 

On the 22d, as soon as the day dawned, the enemy made a strong 
attack upon the guard in the low church, which they entered with a 
hundred men. Another party entered the trenches of the besieged, 
and approached up High-street within a short distance of the castle. 
The guard within the church defended themselves with the greatest 
braveiy, and compelled those who had entered to retreat with the loss 
af five men killed. Those in the steeple, by ringing the bell, gave 
the alarm to the garrison ; and a continued fire being kept up from 
the steeple, and from the east tower of the castle, rendered the at- 
tempt of those who had entered the trenches useless ; on which they 
retreated to their works, carrying the killed and wounded with 
them. 

This attempt to obtain possession of the church, and to expel the 
guard which the besieged had for some time kept there, indicated the 
wish of general Poyntz to preserve, if possible, that fine Gothic struc- 
ture from injury. The failure of this attempt, and the destructive fire 
of the guard, rendered it necessary to dislodge them by the battery of 
the steeple. 

After some time, a piece of cannon planted at Monkhill, carrying 
a ball of eighteen pound weight, began to play against the lanthem of 
the steeple, and was fired thirteen times in one hour and a half, but 
without doing much execution. The besieged, to preserve the church, 
and protect their guard there, played their cannon from King's tower 
against the enemy's works at Monkhill, and at the fifth discharge dis- 
mounted the field piece of the enemy. During the remainder of the 
day, the enemy were employed in remounting their cannon, and 
throwing up works for its security. 

In the afternoon they relieved all their guards, and brought down 
four hundred men from the town to New- Hall, and as many returned. 
The besiegers in the evening conversed freely with some of the be- 
sieged, and informed them of Cromwell's success, and the almost final 
destruction of the forces belonging to his majesty. The besieged, 
happy in their incredulity, considered this information as designed to 



216 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT, 



induce them to surrender, and they still hoped that they should seen 
be relieved. During the night the enemy played thirteen cannoiu 
Lieutenant Faville and captain Hemsworth relieved the guard at the 
church. 

On the 23d, the besiegers as early as two o'clock in the mornings 
began to play their cannon against the lanthera of the church, and 
other places. With some little intermission, they continued their fire 
against this noble structure, till nearly six o'clock, when a breach was 
made by a sixteen pound shot, and a part of it fell down. They then 
played eight shot against the steeple below the bells, and one against 
the lower gate of the castle for some time, but as no impression ap- 
peared to be made, they discontinued their fire till the aftenioon, 
when they played thirty-four against the steeple. In the whole they 
fired sixty balls against the church this day. 

The garrison had one man shot in the arm whilst he lay asleep in 
the lower barbican. They watched the motions of the enemy, but ow- 
ing to the works they had raised at Monkhill, they were not able to 
make any diversion, nor could they again dismount their cannon. The 
enemy recommenced their fire against the church, and in the course 
of the afternoon, poured into the steeple and body of this structure, 
forty balls of eighteen pounds weight. 

The steeple was so much injured that the besieged considered it 
no longer tenable. They however sent lieutenant Moor, with twenty 
musketeers, to relieve their guard ; but he was ordered to occupy the 
houses round the church, and only to place two men within it as sen- 
tries. The besieged concluded that the enemy would make an attempt 
in the night to obtain possession of it, and either to take or drive in 
the guard to the castle. They had loaded their cannon with grape 
shot, and as they expected, the enemy about one o'clock, made an at- 
tack upon the church, and the besieged retreated a short distance but 
returned and set fire to the houses near the church ; he then began to 
fire briskly upon them ; and those in the castle discharging the great 
iron gun which had been brought from the upper gatehouse to the 
garden near the lower gatehouse, compelled them to reti'eat to 
their works. During the night one cannon was kept in continual play 
by the enemy, whilst the great gun was shot towards the enemy's^ 
works below the church. 

On the following day the besieged rested on their ai*ms, and the 
enemy only continued to fire with one cannon until evening, when the 
diflferent guards were relieved. Lieutenant Ottoway was sent down to 
the church with two files of musketeers, to relieve those who had been 
stationed there, and in the adjoining houses, It was expected that 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRAGT. 21? 

tlie enemy would make another attack in the night, and as the gover- 
nor was convinced they would carry their point, he ordered lieutenant 
Ottoway, with his musketeers, to return to the castle at the beating 
of the tattoo. The enemy, as was expected, about one o'clock entered 
the church, and the lower part of the town j and as they found no re- 
sistance remained in possession. 

The garrison did not permit them to enjoy much rest ; but by a 
steady and constant fire of musketry greatly annoyed them. They 
also played their cannon from king's tower against the steeple, and 
fired five shots from the garden, into the body of the church ; so that 
the enemy never appeared in the steeple. They were employed in 
digging up the dead, and making a work within the church for their 
awn defence and security. From this circumstance it appears that 
the body of the church was much injured, and the interior wholly 
destroyed. 

The besieged experienced a severe loss this morning, in the death 
of sir Jarvis Cutler, of Stainburgh, knight. He was seized with a fever 
and being destitute of good advice and necessary support, was cai*ried 
off by it. The enemy would not permit any fresh provisions to be ob- 
tained for him in the town. They only once indulged his lady with 
permission to visit him, and convey to him one chicken and one joint 
of veal. When dead, they would not permit him to be buried in the 
church, nor suffer him to be conveyed to his own home to be interred 
amongst his ancestors. 

About one o'clock the enemy entered the church and greater part 
of the low town, none of the besieged being at that time stationed 
there to resist them ; yet when they perceived their motions, they 
played five cannon from the king's tower, against the church, and five 
cannon from the low gate into the town, doing great execution in both 
places. Thu« the church of All Saints was converted, by both parties, 
into a place of shelter and sanctuary ; and in consequence of this, the 
cannon from both sides tore the fabric in such a dreadful manner, that 
it was almost rendered untenable. The soldiers also began to pillage 
it of lead, iron, and wood. 

On Thursday the 26th, they prepared to inter the body of sir Jar- 
vis in the chapel within the castle. The body was first put into a cof- 
fin of wood, and the whole covered with lead, that his friends, after 
the siege might take him up and convey him to the family vault. The 
resident chaplain in the castle preached the funeral sermon, and the 
garrison honoured the interment o^f this great and noble commanderi 
by firing three voUies over his grave. The enemy would, not permit 
lady Cutler to depart after the funeral, but obliged her to remain in 

E E 



2^1B HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Ae castle ; and though often solicited to permit Tier to return to her 
house and children, they refused. They had only one field piece in 
use the whole of this day. 

The besieged began now to suffer severely. They could not ol>- 
tain relief from any quarter. They were wholly destitute of fresh 
provisions ; and this produced its natural effect : the men were discour- 
aged, and desertion became frequent. In the night of the 26tli, a per- 
son of the name of Medcalf, who had waited on one Alexander Medcalf, 
when he was confined by the gout, deserted to the enemy, and took 
with him whatsoever he could convey. He informed general Poyntz 
that the surgeon who went to the castle to dress the wounds of the pri- 
sioners, and the drum who earned their provisions, communicated in- 
telligence to the garrison, and supplied them with tobacco and other 
articles ; in consequense of which information they were taken up and 
imprisoned. 

The 27th was observed as a day of thanksgiving by the besiegers, 
for their late success and victory over the king. They had two dis- 
courses delivered suitable to the occasion ; and afterwards fired whole 
vollies from all their works round the castle. They twice played their 
cannon ; and the first ball went through the drawbridge and the lower 
castle gate ; the second fell short of the bridge, but shivered to pieces 
a large beam of timber against which it struck. The besieged had two 
men wounded in the barbican, from the enemy's works on Baghill; 
and the besiegers had one man killed from the round tower, while 
standing at the back of Mr. Rusby's house. 

Lord Fairfax, after the battle of Naseby, marched to relieve Taun- 
ton, which had been long besieged bygeneral Goring, and was reduced 
to the last extremity. The Scotch troops advanced to Newark, and 
began the siege of the town and castle there. The besieged received 
on the 28th, the news that their friends at Newark had made a success- 
ful sally, killed five hundred of the enemy, taken their cannon, and 
eompletely dispersed their forces. This news afforded them some 
consolation amidst the disasters which had attended the royal cause. 

On this day the governor, Overton, sent a di-um to the castle, with 
a letter of safe conduct to Lady Cutler, so that she might depart, if 
she pleased, to her own home. Anxious to revisit her mourning family, 
and administer comfort to her children, she immediately availed her- 
self of the opportunity. On her arrival at the first guard of the ene- 
my, she was however seized on suspicion of bearing secret intelligence, 
together with her maid, chaplain, and a tenant who had come to 
meet her. She was ordered by the commander in chief, general 
Povntz, who had not been there when' the pass M'as granted, to be 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 219 

searched by women, and was stripped accordingly, as well as her maid 
and the chaplain. Though no letters were found, yet they detained 
the lady and her maid till next day at noon without any provisions, 
the governor having countermanded the order for her departure. 
They then sent her back to the barbican gates, but governor Lowther 
considered it as improper again to admit her, as the enemy had given 
her leave to depart. In consequeuce of this determination the lady, 
her maid, and the chaplain, remained without shelter under the walls 
of the castle until ten o'clock at night, when they were permitted by 
general Poyntz to enter the town, where they remained till next day 
the 29th, and then departed. 

On the 30th, the enemy had a general rendezvous of all their 
horse in this part, on Brotherton marsh, which amounted to one 
thousand. After they had been drawn up there, they departed in com- 
panies to different villages One company remained at Ferrybridge, 
another was stationed at Knottingley, and a body of about four hun- 
dred came up to Pontefract, facing the castle, and then wheeling off 
into the closes, beyond Baghill, towards Darrington, there turned 
their horses out to gras«. Tlie enemy relieved their guard at New- 
Hall with at least six hundred infantry, and different bodies of infantry 
were in motion in all directions. This led the governor to conclude 
that they now seriously intended to assault the castle ; and he there- 
fore gave orders that the guard should be doubled, and the strict- 
est watch kept. 

The night passed in ti'anquillity ; and the enemy seemed so far 
from intending to storm the castle, that they were employed on the 
following day, 1st of July, in making barricadoes across the lane 
leading to Baghill, in order to restrain the besieged, and to prevent 
them making any more destructive sallies. Fiom this lane they 
formed a trench along the hedge side near alderman Stables' house, 
and made it full of port holes. The garrison poured a heavy fire 
against the enemy's works in all directions, which they as vigorously 
returned. On both sides during the day, some were killed and many 
wounded. 

On Tuesday towards evening, the 1st of July, the besieged be- 
held the enemy carrying faggots and scaling ladders down to the 
church, which again raised their suspicion of an intended assault. 
The guards were then ordered by the governor to be doubled, and the 
forces to be armed ready against all assaults ; and for this purpose, 
about twelve o'clock, they were ordered down into the castle yard, to 
receive the enemy should they make an attack. It did not, however, 
appear that they had formed any such design, as during the night 



220 ' HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

they remained within their works. The besiegers received another 
reinforcement of 2000 well disciplined troops. 

The number of the besiegers, and the strength of their different 
works rendered any sally of the garrison more dangerous to themselves 
than the enemy ; and from this period the besieged made no sallies 
against the enemy's works. On the other hand general Poyntz did not 
wish to expose his men, and sacrifice the lives of numbers by an assault ; 
as he was fully convinced, that in a few weeks the garrison would be 
forced to capitulate. Thus each party rather watched the other than 
carried on any vigorous enterprises. On the 2nd of July, the enemy 
only played on€ cannon against the castle. 

On the 3d and 4th, at dififerent times, a brisk fire of musketry was 
maintained on both sides ; the enemy had several men shot in their 
works around the church, and the besieged in like manner sustained 
some loss- Towards evening on the latter day the enemy's horse, 
which had been drawn up in the West Field most part of the day, be- 
gan to depart to their quarters. A considerable body, however, re- 
mained there all night, and kept up very lai-ge fires. 

On the 5th, they poured a tremendous volley through the draw- 
bridge at the lower castle gate, and continued to play two cannon the 
whole of the day. On the 8th, general Poyntz came down to the works 
neai' the barbican gate, and requested to speak with the governor- 
The governor's son, who happened to be present, informed him ' that 
his father was not there, or if he had he would not have refused to 
speak with him.' General Poyntz then demanded the surrender of the 
castle, and said ' that if the castle would be yielded within three days, 
or thereabouts, the garrison should be treated on honourable terms j 
but if they staid ten or fourteen days they should look for nothing but 
to walk with a white rod in their hands, as soldiers are wont to do in 
the low countries when they meuxhed away on compositions.' Captain 
Lowther then replied, ' that the castle was kept for the king, and 
that there were as many gentlemen in the castle, that if they staid 
fourteen days, and fourteen after that unto the end, they would make 
many a bloody head 'ere they parted from it.' The general then be- 
gan to use harsh language, and told him the soldiers behaved in a 
rude and unbecoming manner, and applied to him most reproachful 
epithets. Captain Lowther replied * that neither he nor his father 
could bridle the soldiers' speech.' On this the general departed. 

On Wednesday the 9th, there was violent filing and speedy riding 
to and fro between the town and New-HaU, yet the besieged fetched 
in grass and gathered parsnips; galled at the same time by the ran- 
dom guns of the enemy which were pointed from the trench they 



HISTORY OF roNTEFRACT. ' 221 

liad formed along the hedge side from Swillington tower, to Den- 
well lane. The besieged sent out some scouts to Sandal, and Newark, 
to bring them intelligence or to join the king's troops, which it was 
supposed were now coming to their relief. 

On Thursday the 10th, the besieged received an account of the en- 
gagement between sir Thomas Fairfax and general Goring ; when it 
was said that Goring routed sir Thomas, and that Taunton was taken. 
A drum came from Newark to know whether the castle was surren- 
dered or not, as the enemy had spread such a report. The drum was 
detained in the town, and kept a prisoner in the house of a Mrs. Wash- 
ington, whose husband was in the castle. He communicated to her 
the message he brought, and sent her down to speak with her hus- 
band, and desired her to tell them to be of good cheer, as forces were 
coming to their relief. Accordingly Mrs. Washington got a drum to 
go with her to the barbican sally-port, where she told her husband the 
news ; and while the drum was engaged in conversation with another, 
she pretending to shake hands with an old acquaintance, contrived to 
deliver to him two letters. These letters named the day and hour 
when sir Marmaduke Langdale intended to come to their relief, and 
confirmed the account of Goring's victory over sir Thomas Fairfax. 

Thus were the garrison vainly encouraged while their privations 
and wants were every day accumulating. They did not cease, how- 
<)ver, to employ all the means in their power to annoy the enemy ; 
nor did their fortitude or courage in the least abate. They maintained 
their loyalty unsullied by the imputation of cowardice, weakness, or 
treachery. 

On Sunday the 13th, letters were received from Sandal castle, in 
which the same accounts were given as in those which have already 
been noticed, that Langdale was approaching. The enemy on this 
day raised some fortifications near Ferrybridge, on Brotherton marsh, 
and some cannon were conveyed there to secure that pass ; which cir- 
cumstance led the besieged to hope the information which they had 
received was correct. 

From some cause the enemy had an alarm in the night, and both 
horse and foot remained under arms until morning'. About four o'clock 
they were seen in the West-field, drawn up as if expecting an attack. 
As it was nearly in this direction that sir Marmaduke Langdale came 
before to relieve the castle, it was now hoped he was again approach- 
ing. 

At this period the infectious and destructive malady called the 
plague, prevailed in the town, and amongst the parliamentarian 
troops ; and thus the scourge of war was followed by pestilence. 



222 



HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT,. 



In consequence of this, general Poyntz withdrew most of his 
troops from the town, and foi-med an encampment in the West-field, 
where the general himself slept, until colonel Bright finding that two 
soldiers had suddenly died here of this malady, caused the huts to be 
burnt, and immediately removed the soldiers. They still kept under 
arms, and it was reported to the garrison that the Skipton horse had 
pushed through Wakefield and by Sandal, in order to join sii' Marma- 
duke Langdale, and that this had given the alarm to the enemy. 

On the I5th, similar rumours of relief reached the castle ; and 
various contradictory reports were spread about. Some of the garri- 
son ventured into the orchaids, and obtained a considerable quantity 
of apples, which they sold at six for one penny. In these attempts 
they exposed themselves to the enemy's fire, and two were killed this 
morning, and some others wounded. 

In the afternoon the enemy sent a drummei*, with a note in his 
hand, which he read to the soldiers as he passed along to the gate, in- 
forming them, that both generals Goring and Langdale were routed, and 
that Cromwell, Fairfax, and Rossiter were coming to their assistance. 
This note he afterwards delivered to those in the castle. The last 
hope of the garrison was now destroyed ; and they found themselves 
surrounded by enemies whom it was impossible to vanquish, nor had 
the king one armj' left which he could send to their relief. 

General Poyntz, soon after this information had been communi- 
cated, and while the impression it had made still remained, sent in a 
trumpeter with a letter from himself and the committee at York. In 
this letter, the governor was again summoned to surrender the castle, 
while he might obtain honourable terms, which was to this eflfect : 
*That w^hereas, heretofore they had sent to summons the castle, which 
was still repelled, but now taking into consideration the great care 
and love they boi-e so many gentlemen and soldiers in the castle, and 
the misery they had lived in, and the efilision of so much innocent 
blood, and many a sackless man in it, they thought good once more 
to summon it, and give them to understand, that if they pleased to come 
to a treaty for the surrender of the castle, they would treat with them 
upon honourable terms, and with conditions fitting for such a garrison, 
and would give hostages for the same.' To which, the governor re- 
plied, ' that it was a matter of too great consequence to treat or give 
answer at first, but he would confer with the knights and gentlemen 
of the castle, and return an answer as speedily as possible.' Where- 
upon the trumpeter was dismissed. 

On the next morning, both parties kept up a strict watch, and 
several were killed with the fire of musketry. The governor of the 



HISTORY OF I^ONTEFRACT. 223 

castle, considering tSie impossibility of maintaining much longer the 
fortress, gave permission to some of the leading gentlemen and offi- 
cers to meet some of the enemy, for the purpose of ascertaining the 
conditions, on which they expected the castle to be surrendered. On 
this business were employed sir Richard Hutton, sir Thomas Bland, 
major Copley, and Mr. Tindall. They met with four of the enemy's 
officers in the half-penny house, which had been burnt, being too 
hot to remain without some shelter. They continued to converse 
freely together for the space of two hours ; and the officers of the ene- 
my treated them liberally with sack and ale, which were brought down 
from the town. 

During this conference, the governor sent for all the captains, 
and gentlemen volunteers into the hall of the castle, to consult what 
measures ought to be adopted; whether they should hold out to the 
last extremity, or surrender on equitable and honourable terms. As 
it was deemed impossible to hold out long, the)"^ agreed that the fol- 
lowing persons should be chosen for treating with the enemy, sir 
Richard Hutton, sir John Ranisden, and sir George Wentworth, for 
the gentry. — Mr. Hurst, and Mr. Kay, for the clergy. — Mr. Hodgson, 
and Mr. Harebread, for the volunteers and reformadoes.— Mr. Aust- 
wick, and Mr. Lunn, for the tovvnsmen. — and lieutenant colonel 
Wheatley, captain Hemsworth, captain Munroe, and lieutenant Gal- 
hrieth, for the soldiers. The commissioners for the besiegers were 
colonel Fairfax, colonel Bright, colonel Copley, and captain Marsden- 

During this period, there was a general intercourse between the 
besiegers and the besieged. All firing ceased, and men and women 
from the town came to converse with those in the castle. The soldiers 
on both sides formed into friendly parties, and agreed to go and rob 
several orchards together. 

The next morning, (being the 17th July) governor Lowther sent 
a drum with a letter to general Poyntz, informing him that they were 
ready to treat when the time and place were appointed. General 
Poyntz had gone to York, and colonel Overton, governor of the town, 
took no notice of the letter until about four o'clock in the afternoon, 
when he sent a drum with a note, * that they would take time to treat, 
and were not so hasty as the garrison.* This was an insult, which be>- 
trayed the pusillanimity of him who gave it, and was justly and pro- 
perly resented by governor Lowther. 

Overton had been induced to make this weak, imprudent, and 
unmanly reply, in consequence of the information which a captain 
from the castle had conveyed, that the garrison had not provisions for 
more than five days. The enemy likewise jeered and called out to them 



224 HISTORV OF PONTEFRACT. ., 

that they intended to farai^ them, to strip them as they came out, 
and to sieze whatever the castle contained as lawful pillage. 

At this critical juncture, governor Lowther made use, most pro- 
bably, of an artifice to revive the hope of relief, to inspire fortitude, 
and encourage the soldiers to make a brave resistance. He produced 
a letter from Newark, informing him that sir Marmaduke Langdale 
had marched on the 12th, with his own forces, and four thousand Irish^ 
in order to relieve them, that Mr. Jarvis Neville was sent from New- 
ark to hasten them, that the lords Gerard and Goring had routed sir 
Thomas Fairfax, and that the marquis of Montrose had defeated the 
Scots. 

This information produced the efifect intended, and though they 
wei'fe now suffering all the miseries with which a protracted siege is 
generally attended, their spirit was unbroken, and their resolution 
and courage unabated. The governor . sent to all the gentlemen's 
chambers within the castle, to learn what provisions were left, and 
by common computation it was found, that if they allowed themselves 
no more than the fare of common soldiers, the whole of the provisions 
would not serve for more than five days. 

About six o'^clock, when prayers Avere ended, the governor, who 
was confined to his room, desired sir Richard Hutton, and sir G. 
Wentvvorth, to assemble the garrison in the castle yard, and read 
them the letter from colonel Overton, and infoi-m them that the gen- 
tlemen were contented to fare in common with them. Sir Richard 
Hutton, then told them, that since it appeared the enemy intended 
them to yield to mercy, and had retracted from articles proposed, as 
they had hitherto behaved themselves like warriors, he hoped they 
would all do as he and other gentlemen would, that if relief did not 
ai-rive, and the worst happened to them, they would sacrifice their 
lives, than yield in so tame a manner. They would consume all the 
goods in the castle, set the castle itself on fire, and make a resolute 
sally, either to cut their way sword in hand through the ranks of the 
of the enemy, or nobly fall in the attempt it. At these words the sol- 
diers with great alacrity, and one general consent, shouted that they 
were ready to run the same hazard with the gentlemen, and withal, 
throwing up their hats, they gave three loud huzzas in conformation 
ofit. 

After these transactions, the governor ordered two flags of defi- 
ance to be displayed ; one from the round tower, and the other from 
the king's tower, and command was quickly given to assail the enemy 
in every quarter with the musketry and cannon j and a steady and 
destructive fire was for some time maintained. 



HiSTOiRY OF PONTEB'RACT. 22i» 

The butch caifnonier fired his field piece into the market-place, 
and from the king's tower the cannon fired upon Monkhill. The iron 
gun was then carried to the platform, outside the outer fortificatioiij 
and Mr. Ingram fired through the first sentry house, beat down the 
Wall, and shot one man through the body, and two or three more 
were carried away in a bleeding condition. He played another shot 
into the croft against the barbican, and musketeers fired from all parts 
of the castle. 

Towards evening a drum was sent with provisions for the prison* 
ers, but the besieged refused to admit him. On which col. Overtoil 
sent another drum with a letter, desiring that the provisions might 
be sent to the prisoners, excusing his reply to the terms and declaring; 
that as soon as general Poyntz returned from York, they would agree 
to the ratification. 

On the 19th, general Poyntz returned, and sent a trumpeter be-^ 
fore ten o'clock with a letter to the governor, giving notice of the time 
and place appointed for the treaty, and it being time for prayers, the 
messenger remained for his answer until they were finished. The 
place agreed on was Botham Close under Baghill, a little above 
Broad Lane end, where a tent was pitched for the accommodation of 
the persons appointed to bring the treaty to a final conclusion. 

The committee for the garrison were gentlemen before noticec^i 
sir R. Hutton, sir J. Ramsden, sir G. Wentworth, colonel Galbrieth^ 
the Rev. Mr. Hirst, and Mr. Kay. Those appointed on the part of the 
enemy, were Mr. L. Westhill, a lawyer, colonel Bright, lieut. col. Fair^ 
fax, and lieut. col. Copley. About four o'clock general Poyntz, colonel 
Overton, and nine other officers came to the Barbican gate, where 
they met the committee from the castle, and they walked with them to 
the tent which was guarded by musketeers, about one hundred yards 
distant from the tent on every side. They continued in close debate 
till nine o'clock in the evening, but came to no agreement, and there- 
fore they appointed to meet again on the morrow at nine o'clock. Irt 
the morning the Dutchman continued firing his cannoji into the 
market-place, imtil the hour of appointment, when he ceased and na 
more shots were exchanged on this day. General Poyntz sent hi* 
trumpeter to bring the garrison's committee to the same tent, where 
they met with the enemy's party and spent the day as the former one 
had been, in useless altercations, and nothing being likely to be agreed 
upon, the garrison's committee arose and departed, declaring that 
* they did not value their lives so much as their honour; and there^ 
fore were resolved to fight it out unto the last man.* Sir John Rams- 
den being then in the gout, rode on horseback into the castle courts 

F F 



22i> 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT 



attended by captain Salmon, and five or six officers attended the other 
committee, the enemy fc^ilowing them to the castle, demanded 
another meeting the next day, and, if possible, they would come 
to a conclusion. 

On Sunday the 19th of July, each party met, and abating in their 
demands, a treaty was made and signed for the surrender of the castle, 
upon honourable terms. Accordingly on the morrow, being Monday 
the 20th, the castle was delivered up to major general Foyntz, upon 
condition for the officers and soldiers to march away with their arms, 
drums beating and colours flying, and bullet in mouth, with six shot 
of powder, and bullet proportionable. The siege had lasted five 
months, from the time it was relieved, and the enemy could not have 
lost fewer in killed and wounded, before this fortress, than a thousand- 
men. The garrison had displayed a courage, which did equal honour 
to themseh^es and the cause they had espoused. Their sallies had been 
planned with judgment, and were executed with promptness, vigour, 
and success. Though on every hand surrounded by superior numbers 
of the enemy, and almost destitute of every necessary, they were not 
intimidated, nor could they be induced to make a disgraceful capitulation-. 

The following letter which the speaker of the house of commons 
received from the committee at York, will give the terms on which 
tlie castle was surrendered. 

' The enemy in Pontefract castle were last week summoned to 
surrender, which caused them to desire a treaty. Accordingly the 
colonels Westhil, Copley, Overton, and Bright, were authorized to treai?. 

The castle is to be delivered up to the parliament tomorrow at 
eight o'clock, with every thing therein, save that the officers are 
allowed to carry away what is properly their own, so that it exceeds 
not what a cloak bag will contain, and the garrison are to march ta 
Newark. 

We are in treaty for Scarbro', which we hope shortly will be 
reduced. This you will please communicate to the house, from 
Sirs, &c. 

Francis Pierrepoint, 
York, July 20, 1645. Wilfred Lawson, 

Henry Cholmley.' 

The parliamentarians, it is believed, lost in killed and wounded 
four hundred and sixty nine soldiers during this siege, whilst the be- 
sieged lost only ninety nine persons, including men women and chil- 
dren, who had fallen victims to other diseases, from- the 24th of Decem- 
l>er, 1644, to the 19th July, 164.5, the day previous to the surrender 
<xf the castle. 



HISTORY OF rONTKFRACr. '2'TJ 



SECTION VII. 



THE TH IRD SIEGE. 

IMMEDIATELY on the surrender of the castle to the parliamenta- 
rian forces, Lowther, with his troops marched towards Newark, and 
sir Thomas Fairfax was appointed governor, by the house of commons. 
In the interim, the lords, considering that colonel Poyntz had the 
honour of terminating the siege, deemed it hut just to appoint him 
governor of the castle, and sent a message to that intent to the com- 
mons, but being informed that they had already appointed sir Thomas 
Fairfax, the lords acquiesced.* Sir Thomas being fully employed in 
pursuing the dispersed and almost vanquished' royalists, appointed 
colonel Overton governor, and invested him with the chief command 
«f the castle. He had one hundred men to attend him, the greater 
part of which were quartered in the town. So elated were they in the 
success of their enterprize, that they were under no apprehension of 
any danger, although the mayor and inhabitants of Pontefract had 
terrible thoughts when they petitioned for the ruin of the castle.f 

There were few places but what now surrendered to the victorious 
arms of the parliamentary forces. Sandal castle surrendered a few 
days after that of Pontefract. The troops which had been employed 
in the siege of these places were now disengaged, and therefore 
marched against the small parties of the royalists, which still remain- 
ed unsubdued. A small party of these.was collected at Worksop, and 
were engaged in fortifying the manor house there. Colonel Copley, 
who now commanded the horse of major general Poyntz marched from 
Pontefract to attack them ; but on his approach they were so intimi- 
dated that they fled with the utmost precipitation- S.ome, however, of 
the cavalry and pioneers fell into his hand. 

* Whitelock, p. 162. 

t Petition foi' demolishing the castle : — 

The humble petition of the mayor, aldermen, and all the well -affected inhabitants 
of Pontefract; to the siipreme authority of England, the commons assembled in parlia- 
ment, for the demolishing of Pontefract castle, and granting the town of Pontefract, so 
much lead, timber, and other materials, as shall amount to lOUOL towards repairing 
their place of worship, and re-edifying an habitation for the minister. Edward Field 
mayor, 1647. ' 

This petition was accompanied with a copy of major general Lambert's letter to 
the parliament, concerning the surrender of Pontefract castle, relating something 
further to the town of Pontefract, &c. h,c,—rki. Old Town's Book. 



228 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

While the towns and fortresses, which were occupied by the king's 
troops in England, were falling before the rapid movements of Fair- 
fax and Cromwell, the astonishing achievements of the marquis of 
Montrose, in Scotland, afforded some consolation, and shed a gleam 
of hope amongst the royalists. Lord Digby received a commission from 
the king, as lieutenant general of all the forces, north of the Trent, 
and had imder him, sir Marmaduke Langdale, sir Richard Button, 
and others. He %vas at the head of a body of horse, amounting to fif- 
teen thousand; and with these, at the wish of the king, he resolved 
to push north, and, if possible, to join Montrose, who was very sucv 
cessful there, and only wanted cavalry to enable him to reduce the 
whole kingdom to obedience of the king. 

The design was bold, and if it could have been executed, might 
have supported the royal cause, and prevented the defeat of Montrose, 
at Philip-Haugh. Lord Digby made the attempt, and successfully 
led his valiant horse from Oxford to Ferrybridge, where he sur- 
prised four hundred of the parliamentary forces which lay there, took 
their arms from them and shattered colonel Wren's regiment of horse. 
He then pursued his march to Sherburn, where he routed seven hun- 
dred more of the enemy's forces, taking from them their bag and bag- 
gage, but whilst staying here for carriages, some of general Poyntz's 
forces commanded by colonel Copley, colonel Lilborne, and colonel 
Allured,who most probably lay at Pontefract, on receiving information 
of the enemy, immediately pursued with his cavalry, and came up with 
the rear, near Sherburn. Copley occupied a commanding ground, 
near Milford, and waited the attack of the enemy. Digby sounded to 
horse, and having collected some of his troops, rushed forward to the 
attack without waiting for the remainder. Copley's horse sustained 
the charge with firmness, but was afterwards compelled to fly. They 
took the road to Sherburn, and lord Digby's horse pursued them. On 
seeing the horse flpng, those troops which had remained in Sherbuni 
considered the day as lost, and mounting their horses fled in all 
directions. A troop of colonel Copley's horse, which had continued 
unbroken, now fell on the rear of lord Digby's, whilst the horse he was 
pursuing rallied ; and wholly unable to sustain this attack, he was 
routed and pursued for a distance of three miles. 

In this rencontre, colonel Cornaby, sir Richard Hutton, and seve- 
ral other ofl&cers were killed ; and four colonels, one hundred ofl&cers, 
gentlemen and reformadoes, with three hundred of the infantry, and 
six hundred horse, with their furniture were taken. The countess of 
l»gidesdale, the lord Digby's coach and his cabinet of letters, the king's 
surgeon; and much good pillage, were also taken. Lord Digby with 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 229 

his shattered brigade escaped, but on reaching "Carlisle in his flight 
towards Scotland, he was utterly defeated a second time, and with 
difficultj'^ escaped to the Isle of Man, from whence he obtained a pas- 
sage to Ireland. 

This victory was deemed of such importance that a special mes- 
senger was dispatched to inform the house of it, who voted forty 
pounds as a reward to colonel Copley. 

From this period the arms of the pai-liament were every where 
victorious. The city of Oxford only, where the king shut himself up 
during the winter, remained unsubdued. In this hopeless state the 
despairing monarch fled to the Scotch army, which lay before New- 
ark, and continued in effect a prisoner. The royalists were disbanded, 
and those gentlemen who had enjoyed commissions under his majesty, 
retired to their own estates and lived in privacy. 

The year 1647 passed over in fruitless treaties between the 
king and the parliament, and in contentions between the latter and 
the army. The army secured the king's person, and directed by their 
officers, overawed and entirely attained dominion over the parliament. 
Amidst the confusion which arose from these contests, the king fled ; 
but not finding a ship to convey him to the continent, he surrendered 
himself to Hammond, governor of Carisbrook castle, in the Isle of 
Wight, where he remained till he was brought up for his trial. 

The kingdom in general was dissatisfied at the proceedings of the 
?irmy, but there was no power sufficient to counteract them. The 
Presbyterians endeavoured to liberate the king, and the cavaliers and 
moderate men of all parties joined with them. The Scotch declared 
in his favour, and preparations were made to invade England, join 
the Presbyterians and others, and immediately to attempt the restora- 
tion of the king to his throne, on terms consistent with the liberty of 
the subject and the spirit of the constitution. 

While these events engrossed the attention of the nation, Over- 
ton was called to London, and colonel Cotterell was invested with the 
command of the garrison at Pontefract, the towers and battlements of 
the fortress were repaired by order of parliament, and cost 700/. On 
account of its strength and importance, and irfland situation, it had 
been preserved from that ruin to which many others had been devoted, 
and he exercised a very severe jurisdiction over his neighbours. In 
consequence of which, their conduct was very minutely scrutinizedl 
by him, and when his jealousy marked the least foible, he summoned 
them into his presence, and reprimanded them with great asperity. 
This laid the foundation of a series of animosities, which subsisted 
amongst them, and ultimately led to his ruin. From the details of the 



230 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT, 

first and second sieges, it will appear, that most of the gentlemen in 
this neighbourhood took an active part in support of the king and his 
prerogatives. On the conclusion of the war they had retired to their 
estates, but as they were known to have had commissions from the 
king, and to retain the same principles of loyalty, they were narrowly 
watched, and under various pretences fined considerable sums of 
money for their delinquency.* 

Cotterel, from the information he received, which might not be 
always deserving of credit, sent for several of the neighbouring gentle- 
men, and detained them prisoners for some time in the castle. However 
this conduct might be justified on the ground of prudence, and 
although it might be necessary to watch the motions of the royalists, 
it had an unhappy influence on their minds. They felt they were 
always suspected, insecure, on account of the part they had already 
taken ; and were consequently disposed to avail themselves of the 



* The following list of gentlemen who compounded for their estates, or paid fines 
to the government, and who either resided in this part of the country, or took an ac- 
tive part in the defence of the castle, will establish the fact stated above. This account 
is taken fron a catalogue of such lords, knights and gentlemen, as compounded for 
their estates, printed for Thomas Dring, 1655, and from Wilson's MS. pedigree. 

I. s. d. 

Beaumont, sir Thomas, Whiteley Hall, fined 700 

Bunny, Francis, Newland, near Wakefield, 90 

Bland, sir Thomas Kippax Park, who commanded in the siege, , . 405 
Beverley, John, of Selby and great Smeaton, who was major of a regi- 
ment of foot for Charles, 200 

Cutler, sir Jarvis, Stainborough, 192 

Copley, Godfrey, Sprotborough, 1543 

Cook, Brj'an, of Doncaster, fined 187i. 6 8. settled on, . . . 1833 
Palston, sir George, of Heath, was a member of parliament the 16th. 

Charles I. He took part with the king, and was fined, . . 700 

Downey, Christopher, of Cowick near Snaith, was created a baronet in 
May 19, 1642. He supported Charles in the war, but was not fined. 
Sir John, his son, was created by Charles II. viscount Downe, of 
the kingdom of Ireland. 
Jackman, Matthew, Empsall, ........ 45 

Lowther, sir William, governor of our castle, 200 

Margison, Richard, Armin, 3000 

Mountain, Isaac, and his son George, of Wistow, 501. per annum and 155 

Neville, Francis, Chevit, 1000 

Nuttal, John, Rawcliff, • . . 320 

Gates, Richard, alderman, Pontefract, ....... 22 

Stile, Thomas, Kellington, 100 

Stringer, Esq. Thomas, Charleston, 485 

Stables, William, alderman, Pontefract, 12 3 

Tatham, John, do, . 114 

William, do, 75 

Thompson, William, Brotherton, 109 

Wentworth, sir George, WooUey, . ' 3188 

Yarborough, sir Nicholas, of Balne Hall, 600 

This was a branch of the Yarboroughs of Snaith Hall. Sir Nicholas was 
in the commission of array for Charles I. and on his death he was 
fined the above sum. His son, sir Thomas Yarborough, was high 
sheriff in the tenth of Charles II, 1673. 
Woolstoneholme, of Woolstoneholme, Lancashire, having purchased 
Nostel Priory, built a house there. This son and heir, sir John, 
carried plate to York, for the use of the king, to the value of 
10,0001. and it appears from his own papers that he was fined an 

equal sum for his delinquency, 10000 

His son Heni-y was slain in the battle of Marston Moor ; and sir Thomas, his bro- 
ther, was killed in the battle of Naseby. Being reduced by the war, he sold Nostel to 
the fatftily of Gargreaves, of whom it was purchased by sir George Wynn, bsironct, in 
which family it still continues. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 231 

first opportunity to avenge the insults, which they supposed they had 
l-eceived, and aid in any attempt to restore the king. 

Sir Marmaduke Langdale had received private intelligence that 
the Scotch were ready to invade England, and having received his 
majesty's commission, he collected what royalists he could, to give 
success to the attempt. He then informed the gentlemen, and other 
soldiers residing near Pontefract, whom he well knew, that succours 
were held out by the Scots for the liberation of Charles, and that with 
a view to aid and assist in the enterprize, he was now hastening to join 
them. They then replied, ' that it was unanimously agreed amongst 
them, that when it should appear that an army was raised in Scot- 
land upon that account, which would draw down the parliamentarian 
troops into the northern countries, and that there should be risings 
in other parts of the kingdom ; that, then they would endeavour the 
surprise of the castle, and after they had made themselves strong in 
it, and furnished it with provisions to endure some restraint, they 
should draw as good a body to them, as those counties could yield.' 
Thus whilst jealousy was hushed and harmony restored, the gentle- 
men in the neighbourhood held secret correspondence and communi- 
cated with the royal forces. In consequence of this, and the news of 
the duke of Hamilton's intended invasion, the gentlemen resolved to 
surprise the castle, and hold it for the king. 

Langdale gave them a commission to execute the plan, when it 
should be deemed advisable, and settled a method of correspondence 
between himself and them. After his departure, they informed him of 
all their proceedings and received his directions. They endeavoured 
to conciliate Cotterel, the governor of the castle, and were so success- 
ful, that he treated them with more humanity and discovered less 
jealousy than he had been accustomed to do. 

Among those who agreed to the surprisal of the castle, was one 
colonel Morrice. He is said to have been in his youth, page to Thos. 
Wentworth, of Wentworth Woodhouse, earl of Stralford ; one of the 
most able statesmen in the kingdom, but the chief adviser of those 
unconstitutional measures, which brought on the civil war, of whom 
Lord Digby said, ' I believe his practices in themselves have been as 
high and tyrannical as any subject ever ventured upon j and the 
malignity of them are greatly aggravated by those abilities of his, of 
which God has given him the use, but the devil the application." In 
his service Morrice was trained up, and on the breaking out of the war 
he entered into that of the king. He enjoyed the rank of an officer; 
but whether he had received some affront, which he could not forgive, 
or whether he thought that he did not enjoy a rank equal to his merit;> 



232 HISTORY OF POS'IEFnACT. 

he quitted the service of the king; in disgust, and joined the army of 
the parliament. 

During the first three years of the war, Morrice often distinguished 
himself by a resolution and courage, which the greatest dangers 
appeared rather to increase than subdue. Naturally bold, he was 
often placed in the post of honour and diffiiculty, and obtained such 
renown, as to be noticed and caressed by his superior officers. As a 
reward for his services as well as an incitement to his future exertions, 
he was advanced to the rank of colonel. He did not disappoint the 
expectations which his past conduct had raised ; but when engaged in 
the most difficult enterprises, he was crowned with success. Although 
respected for his military talents, he gave offence to the serious 
part of the army, by his dissipation and licenciousness. He did 
not, like some others, put on the mask of seriousness as a cover 
to the most enormous crimes, but whatever his vices were, they were 
notorious. He was the devotee of sensual gratifications, in his 
conversation he was gay, humorous, and pleasing ; and consequently 
became hated for his vices and beloved for his virtues. 

On the new modelling of the armj', and the introduction of strict 
discipline, Morrice was left unemployed, as Fairfax and Cromwell would 
admit none to command, but who either were or appeared to be, sober 
and I'eligious men. They however dismissed Morrice with professions 
of the highest respect, and promised that as soon as a proper occasion 
occurred, they would again call him forth into active service. 

He seemed for a time to repent of his dismissal and by these 
means gained the pity and the confidence of the officers of parliament 
who considered him to be one of the noblest of their warriors. 
Lord Clarendon, however, writes * that he was not displeased at his 
dismissal from the service of the parliament, as he had already begun 
to repent of his late rebellious conduct.' Being a gentleman possessed 
of a competent estate, at Elrasall, in this part of Yorkshire,* he came 

* Castilion Morrice, a son of colonel Morrice, whose daughter Ann married Wil- 
liam Sykes, of Stockholm, merchant, is mentioned in the Milnes' Pedigree, Vid*. 
Beetham. This William Sykes was brother of Richard Sykes, of Leeds and Led- 
ston, whose eldest daughter and coheir married Thos. Wilson, grandfather to the late 
bishop of Bristol, whose second son, Christopher Wilson, esq. of Elmsal, in right 
of that marriage, possesses the very valuable estate of the Park, at Leeds, formerly an 
appendage to the ancient castle of that name. 

The mother of William Sykes, who married Ann, the eldest daughter of Castilion 
Morrice, as above mentioned, married to her second husband Joseph Poole, esq. of 
Sykehouse, in the parish of Fishlake, a captain in the army of the parliament, and who 
frequently hazarded his life, in various attempts to scale the walls of our castle during 
the last siege. He resided some time after the castle was surrendered and dismantled 
in the house now called the Castle Chain House ; and various letters directed to him 
there, are still in the possession of John Milnes, esq. of Wakefield. He afterwards went 
and resided at Chapelthorp, near Wakefield, and at last retired to that town, where he 
ended his days. He was buried in the Quakers' buiying ground, where a stone still 
remains to his memory. He died Sept. 16, 1704. 

The family of Poole, of Sykehouse and Drax, sprung originally from the Pooles of 
Spinkhill, in the county of Derby. Baxter informs us, that t.He ancestor of Matthew 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 233 

and resided upon it ; and resolved to wipe off the stain of rebellion by- 
opposing the views of the parliament, and aiding the royal cause- 
That such a resolution should be formed at the time of his dismissal, 
clearly indicates that he sensibly felt the mortification of disappointed 
hope in the career of his ambition ; and it is probable that his future 
conduct was regulated as much by a spirit of revenge as by the impulse 
of loyalty. 

He ingratiated himself into the favour of the officers of the castle, 
and particularly professed an unbounded friendship towards Cotterel, 
the governor ; and as an officer who had hitherto distinguished himself 
in the cause of the parliament, he was readily admitted to his confi- 
dence. A continual intercourse produced on the part of the governor 
a sincere friendship, and he honoured him with every mark of genuine 
esteem and regard. Morrice visited the castle whenever he pleased, 
and sometimes remained there far a week, eating at the same table, 
and sleeping in the same bed with the governor. By the sprightliness 
&f his temper, and the vivacity of his wit, he banished the tedium of 
military duty, and gained such an ascendancy, that the governor parted 
from him with reluctance, and was impatient for the repetition of his 
visits. 

Whilst Morrice had the address to ingratiate himself into the 
favour of the governor of the castle, he was continually plotting the 
surprisal of the castle. He consulted with Thomas Paulden, captain 
of the foot, and his brothers William and Timothy Paulden, captains of 
horse, but kept from their meetings in order that no suspicion might 
be attached to him. The parties being very zealous in advocating this 
cause, met frequently in the woods of Brearly, at Kingston Hill, 
Kirkby, Frickley, and Hooton Pagnel, encouraged greatly by lady 
Saville. 



Poole, was one of the first to embrace the reformation ; and was in consequence drrveir 
away from Spinkhill, by another branch of the family who was as zealous for Popery, 
There is a pedigree of this family in the Herald's Office, which traces the family for 
nineteen generations. Richard Poole, of Sykehouse, had issue Francis Poole, esq. of 

York, who married the daughter of Toppin,. alderman of York ; and a 

second son called William. Francis had issue Matthew Poole, the industrious author 
of Synopsis Criticorum. He succeeded Dr. Tuckney, at St. Michael's, London, where 



he faithfully discharged the duties of a pastor for fourteen years, till he was silenced by 
the Bartholomew Act. He retired to Holland, where he died greatly lamented by all 
who knew him ; for " he was pleasant in his conversation, triie to his friends, strict m 
his piety, and universal in his charity." 

William Poole, the younger son of the above Richard, had issue captain Samuel 
Poole, of Leeds, and captain Joseph, of Wakefield. They had commissions in the 
army of the parliament. Joseph was engaged in the siege of our castle, as above stated. 
Captain Samuel had issue, by Silence, daughter of Peter Saxton, vicar of Leeds, David 

Poole, Josiah, and Obadiah. David Poole married Mary, relict of Massey, esq. 

by whom he had Josiah Poole, of Liverpool, merchant. Josiah Poole married 

and had issue David Poole, esq of Youngsbury, Herefordshire, Prime Serjeant at Law. 
This David married Jane, daughter and heir of John Bird, esq. of Youngsbury, and had 
issue Josiah Poole, esq. of Knotttngley, who dying unmarried, at Bath, the estate has 
descended to his younger brother, David Poole, esq. of Ackworth, 

G G 



234 HISTORY OF POKTEFRACt. 

Morrice UTOte to the king, acquainting him of the enterprise ; 
and the king returned him thanks, giving him orders to effect it 
if possible ; and informing him that he would receive a commission 
from sir Marmaduke Langdale. 

The greatest caution and circumspection was requisite to be 
observed in this undertaking, and an accident which happened a short 
time afterwards increased the danger considerably. 

A Mr. William Purdey, residerit in the house of Mr. Anne, of 
Frickley, fwho was then a prisoner in Pontefract castle,; was one of 
the party of Morrice ; and at this place were held many meetings for 
the sui-prisal of the castle. When the matter was agreed upon, it was 
imparted to Mr. Anne's eldest son, Michael Anne, esq. who being very 
desirous that his father should be away from the castle at the time of 
the attack, went to him and informed him of the affair. Mr. Anne 
then devised a pretence, that private affairs called home his attention ; 
and the governor granted him leave fbn presenting an hostage) to go 
and settle them. 

W'hen he reached home, he informed George Holgate of the 
enterprise ; who indiscreetly revealed it to his wife, and she impru- 
dently speaking of it to others, a flying report reached Overton in 
London, who immediately requested Cotterel to detach a~ file of 
musketeers, and sieze colonel Morrice, and Mr. Anne, of Frickley.* 
The son fortunately escaped, and fled to a friend of his fathers, a Mr. 
Neville, who resided beyond Sheffield, where lie remained until intelli- 
gence reached him, that his name was inserted in a proclamation for 
his apprehension. On this account he accompanied Mr. Dighton, a 
major in the royalists of the garrison at Hull, and travelled incognito 
en foot to Newcastle, in order to join the Scotch an'my, hoping to 
find protection there ; whilst colonel Morrice and Mr. Anne were 
prisoners at York. 

Meanwhile sir Thomas Wentworth, who was -piivj to the affair of 
the surprisal, had got all his- corn thrashed in his barns at Bretton, 
under the pretence of raising money for his composition ; but in reality 
for supplies to the garrison, if it had once again fallen into the hands 
of the royalists. 

On gaining intelligence, however, of Morrice's captivity, and the 
open disclosure of the affair, he hastened with all possible speed to 
London, to pay his composition ; and obtained an interview with 
Overton in order to learn his thoughts on the affair for the express 
purpose of acting as a spy upon his actions. Sir Thomas mentioned 

* Nov. tV), 1647— Letters from general Povntz, &c. eorrcboratine the information 
of a design to surprize the castle for'the king." Vide Whitlock. 



HiSTOHY OF PONTEFllACT, 235 

tlie subject during theii* converse, and colonel Overton enquired what 
was the public opinion of colonel Morrice's conduct, when sir Thomas 
replied ' he believed it was only a design of some Morrice's enemies to 
^ain him disrepute; that if Morrice had devised this stratagem he 
would have been more circumspect, than to publish it, and that it was 
an utter impossibility that a woman should be able to accomplish such 
a design.* Overton hearing Wentworth speak in such high terms of 
Morrice, who was little in his favour, openly avowed, ' that he believed 
nothing treacherous of colonel Morrice,' then generally styled major 
Morrice. 

Sir Thomas then, on learning the sentiments of colonel Overton, 
obtained his permission to visit the prisoner Morrice, at York, sooner 
than he at first intended. 

When he reached York, and had gained an interview with Mor- 
rice, he told him of the discourse he had held with colonel Overton in 
London, and encouraged him to deny all the accusations against him, 
as he firmly believed they had no proof of his crime. Morrice then 
gave him a promise to attend to his instructions and they parted. 

Major Morrice and Mr. Anne were forthwith conveyed to London, 
and strictly examined there many times by a committee appointed 
purposely. When they found that no cross questionings or threaten- 
ings could extort any confession, they had recourse to gold, in order 
to bribe him. They then promised him 1000/. in money, and an 
annuity of 500/. per annum, if he would confess to the charge, and 
inform of the abettors ; for they thought by this to implicate the lady 
Saville, as well as other noblemen about this part of the countr}\ In 
this attempt they were foiled. Their promises were as useless as 
their threats,; and neither Morrice nor his friend Anne would barter 
the discovery for the glittering ore. Pinding therefore that no intelli- 
gence could be gained from them, they judged it an idle and a vaglie 
report. The major and his friend were immediately dismissed, and 
returned home, where they were held still higher in the estimation of 
their friends than hitherto, as well as gaining the confidence of the 
parliamentarians. 

Colonel Overton still remaining in London, the parliamentarian 
forces in Pontefract were under the command of colonel Cotterel, who 
held Morrice in high estimation, and his martial courage and spright- 
line&s of conduct gained him his entire and unbounded confidence. 

Whilst he thus gained the friendship of the governor and the 
officers of parliament, he received sir Marmaduke Langdale's , com- 

* Lady Saville, to whose memory may be ascribed eternal honour, was the greatest 
reliever of the unhappy and distressed king's forces, and was the greatest promoter of 
all undertakings for the benefit and Bcrvice of the king. 



236 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

mission by virtue of that general's authority, granted to him by the 
prince of Wales ^ and he then turned his thoughts once again to the 
sui-prisal of the castle. 

He then held consultation with the three Pauldens, lieutenant 
Austwick, and cornet Blackburn, who then became the principal 
movers of the new scheme. To try the spirit of the country he visited 
the markets and fairs, freely discussing on the principal topics. The 
information he was able to gain he communicated to both parties, so 
that whilst assisting the royalists he gained still more' the confidence 
of the parliamentarians. 

The royalists were accustomed to meet at the house of the Rev. 
Mr. Beaumont, rector of South Kirkby. At one of these meetings one 
of the Pauldens informed them, that a gentleman on whom they might 
rely with the utmost confidence, declared * that he would surprise the 
castle, whenever they should think the season ripe for it.* He there- 
fore advised them that they should not trouble themselves with con- 
triving the means to surprise the place ; in which by trusting too 
many would be liable to a discovery, but that he would take that 
charge upon himself, by a way they need not enquire into, vi'hich he 
assured them should not fail ; and to this they all willingly acquiesced. 
They agreed to enlist men who should be ready to take aims when 
required ; and they soon obtained about three hundred foot and fifty 
horse, who had served under them in the the preceding war. 

While measures were thus adopted without, MoiTice was no less 
active in carrying on his design within the castle. His visits were 
more frequent, and he left no artifice unhandled which could tend to 
lull the suspicions of the governor. He made himself friendly with 
all the soldiers, revelling with them frequently; and enlisting for 
parliament those who vented the greatest hatred, and were most bitter 
against the king. The soldiers then intoxicated with pride, would 
often tell Cotterel that they had listed themselves with Morrice 
to come to the castle, whenever he should call or send to them. He 
visited the guards nightly, and those centinels who were averse to all 
his plots, he would persuade the governor to dismiss, stating * that he 
found him always asleep,' or some other fault. 

He won over to his pui-pose major Ashby, ensign Smith, and 
Serjeant Floyd, as well as a corporal, who had promised his assistance 
in scaling the walls, at night-fall, and in the placing of a centinel 
favourable to the stratagem. 

The governor had no suspicion whatever of the sincerity of 
Morrice, as he appeared very active in detecting all designs against 
the peace and tranquillity of the fortress. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 237 

Morrice knew well that the garrison could make but a slight 
«'esistance, if attacked bravely and unawares, and therefore used e very- 
endeavour to appear a strenuous friend and zealous advocate of the 
interests of the governor ; and to prevent suspicion from arising in 
5iis breast, seemed always anxious for his safety ; telling him often, 

* he must have a great care of his garrison, that he had none but 
faithful men in the castle, for that he was confident there were some 
men, who lived not far off, and who many times came to visit him, who 
had some design upon the place." He would then in confidence, 
name many persons, devoted to both the king and the parliament, 
sometimes linking in his own comrades. And would then tell him not 
to be alarmed, for that he had a false brother amongst them, from 
whom he was sure to have seasonable advertisement ; promising at 
the same time that he would within a few hours' notice, bring him at 
any time forty or fifty good men into the castle, to reinforce his 
garrison when there should be occasion. He even shewed him a list 
of persons, who he stated were friendly to the garrison, and he would 
sometimes bring a few With him, introducing them to Cotterel, stating 

* that these were in the list he had given him, of the honest fellows 
who would stick to him when there should be need.' The state of the 
country, and the meetings of the royalists in different parts, at length 
raised a general suspicion of some intended design against the castle, 
and Cotterel frequently received several letters from his friends 
informing him ' that he should take care of colonel Morrice, who had 
resolved to betray him, for that he had been in such and such compa- 
nies of men who were generally esteemed most malignant, and had 
great intrigues with them.' Morrice, who now attended the meetings 
of the i-oyalists, pretended to inform the governor under the garb of 
ridicule, of all the proceedings passed at these meetings, so that on the 
reception of such letters, the governor shewed them to him and they 
both smiled. 

On such occasions Morrice said, * though he had he knew no 
mistrust of his friendship, and knew him too well to think him capable 
of such baseness, yet he ought not for his own sake, be thought to 
slight the information, which would make his friends the less careful 
of him ; and that they had reason to give him warning of those meet- 
ings ; which, if he had not known himself, would have been very 
worthy of his suspicion. Therefore he would forbear coming to the 
castle again, till this jealousy of his friends should be over who would 
know of this, and be satisfied with it.' He would then call for his 
horse, and deaf to the governor's entreaties, depart from the castle, 
[ and not return again until particularly pressed by the governor, when 
he would come, lending his aid in all public and private affairs. 



238 HISTORY OF PONTEFKACT. 

In this artful manner he managed the governor, and by making 
pretended discoveries of the royalists, he rendered it necessary for 
himself to be consulted in order to frustrate them. General Poyntz, 
who formed a true estimate of the character and principles of Morrice, 
faithfully warned Cottei-el to guard against his duplicity and treachery; 
but he, judging of the sincerity of Morrice's profession of friends}up 
and zeal from his own, neglected the warning. 

At length the appointed time for the execution of this adventm-ous 
exploit drew near. Morrice prepared a scaling ladder at his own house, 
in the month of April, lf)48, and had it secretly conveyed to Mr. 
Austwick's Lathe. It was constructed broad enough for two men to 
mount abreast. Eight soldiers being won over to assist him, a night 
was fixed, and the corporal and a centinel was to be upon the guard 
according to his promise, at the place intended to be scaled. He, how- 
ever, was intoxicated at the time, and another gnard, ignorant of the 
attempt, supplied his place. The party amounting to 300 infantry and 
50 hor»e arrived, and Morrice when he had effected the securing of the 
ladder, mounted with a soldier, and began to scale the vralls, when the 
sentinel gave the alarm and fired upon them. The colonel encouraged 
them to cany the design into execution, but the Pauldens and others 
refusing, and the soldiers appearing on the ramparts, they fled from the 
place jjrecipitately, leaving the ladder in the ditch, and though fired 
upon by the garrison they lost not a single man The troops dispersed 
into the country ; and half of the horse marched to sir Marmaduke 
Langdale, who had then taken Berwick and Carlisle. Morrice and the 
rest betook themselves to the woods, sending out scouts to gather 
intelligence of the attack. Having brought them information that 
though the design was at present frustrated, yet no suspicion rested 
on Morrice or his associates, they returned home to concert other 
aueasures, so determined were they on the reduction of the fortress. 
INIorrice on being told by his wife that Cotterel did not in the least 
suspect him of being accessary to this assault, boldly and with much, 
confidence repaired to the castle, and requested Cotterel to give him 
a sight of the ladder ; and on beholding it he expressed his surprize in 
fiuch a way, and conducted himself with so much dissimulation that the 
governor was certain he could have had no concern in it. 

However he was so much affrighted at this circumstance, that he 
for a length of time remained on guard himself until 5 o'clock in the 
morning. At the instigation of Morrice he then ordered all the sol- 
<diei-s, which did not exceed 100, to repair unto the castle, but this 
proved a fatal step for the cause of parliament. 

He granted warrants, for beds to be brought out of the country, 



HISTOIIY OF PONTEFllACT. 23^ 

mto the castle at an appointed time, and Monico and his associntcs 
when they learnt of it, were resolved to seize this opportunity for 
eifecting their design. On the day fixed, Morrice and captain William 
Paulden, disguised like country gentlemen with swords hy their sides, 
came with the beds, attended by nine others dressed like plain coun- 
try men and constables to guard the beds, &c. When they reached the 
castle, which was about six o'clock in the morning, they enquired of 
the eentinel for Major Morrice who had promised to meet them there. 
The seijeant on guard being one of the soldiers won by Morrice to his 
plan, immediately went to the governor, who had a short time before 
retired to his chamber, and informed of the arrival of the constables, 
and that major Morrice would be here in the course of half an hour. 
Cotterel bid him take the keys and let in the constables, and when the 
major came to bring him into his chamber, and having thus spoke, he 
composed himself to sleep, accoviti ed as he was with his sword by his 
side. When they had gained entrance into the main guard, the beds 
were thrown down and a crown piece was given to the soldiers on 
duty there, to fetch ale. As soon as they had departed, Morrice and 
his associates drew up the drawbridge, unsheathed their swords, and 
after informing them that they had a commission from the king to secure 
the castle, he thus spoke to his men, pointing singly to each, * you 
and youre are for me and his own.' The captain of the guard per- 
ceiving eight of his men to be for Morrice, and being inferior in 
strength began to be afraid, when Morrice promised fair quarters to 
those who offered no resistance. Thej'^ then tamely siibmitted to him, 
and he cast them into a dungeon close by, thirty steps in depth, capa- 
ble of containing between two and three hundred men. 

Meanwhile the rest were buried in sleep, little aware of the 
stratagem and its contents, when captain Wm. Paulden and two others, 
guided by a confederate, proceeded to the apartments of Cotterel. 
Awakened by the noise on the staircase, he started up and drew his 
sword ; and on captain Paulden entering, and telling him he was his 
prisoner, he without speaking made a thrust at the captain, and 
defended himself bravely until wounded in the head and arm, he began 
to be faint. He made another desperate push at the captain, and his 
tuck coming in contact with the bed post it broke in two. He then 
begged for quarter which was readily granted him. Paulden having 
taken him prisoner, was conducting him down stairs, when Morrice 
met them. He told Cotterel to fear nothing, and comforted him with 
the assurance ' of good usage, and that he would procure pardon from 
the king for his rebellion.' He was then cast with as many more as 
they could find into the dungeon amongst the rest. In the castle was 



240 



HISrORY OF PONTEFRAeT* 



found a great qirantity of salt and malt, 4000 stand of arms, a good 
stoie of ammunition, some cannon and two mortar pieces. Morrice 
then ordered his chaplain, Mr. Chas. Davison, to commence prayer* 
and render thanks to God for their success, and notice was sent to 
captain Thomas Paulden then in the wood close by. This assault was- 
effected on the 3d June, 1648, at half-past eight o'clock in the morning 
Morrice gave the plunder of the money to the eight soldiers as he had 
promised, and kept the castle gates shut and the portcullis down until 
Saturday the 6th June ; when he gave public notice to all assembled, 
* that he had secured the castle for the service of his majesty, amd by 
virtue of his commission declared, no towns-man shotdd be molested if 
they remained at home.' 

The conduct of Morrice towards Cotterel merits general infamy. 
He had been the object of his sincere regard, and unsuspecting confi- 
dence. He had eaten his bread, and on all occasions had been treated 
with such kindness as ought to have unnerved the arm of an enemy, 
and subdued malignity itself. Nor let it be supposed that the end 
justified the means. He might have been loyal without being treach- 
erous ; he might, as a friend to the king, have thought it his duty to 
surprise the castle, but he ought to have presei*ved sacred the claims 
and the rights of friendship. The man, who had by turns betrayed all 
parties, whatever his talents might be, can have no claim to be con- 
sidered m any other light, than as totally destitute of principle, and 
governed solely by caprice, revenge, or ambition. 

On the 6th of June, captain Thomas Paulden arrived at the castle 
with thirtj' horse. On their march towards the castle they were joined 
by various parties, so that when they had entered, the geu-rison con- 
sisted of 500 men. 

Morrice furnished the garrison on this Saturday with all manner 
of provisions from the town, paying for some from his private purse, 
and promising payment for some, which according to his abilities he 
performed, to the gentlemen who assisted him in the sui"prisal of the 
castle. He gave 601. to Mr. Glatberts. 

As soon as the parliamentarians learnt of Morrice's conduct, they 
plundered his house and took away goods and stock amounting to 
more than 1000^., as well as 1800/. in bonds and bills. 

When Morrice had secured the castle, it was not stocked with 
provisions sufficient for one month, but he plied diligently and gathered 
a great deal ; and when it was publicly known that the castle was in 
his hands, a great number of noblemen flocked to him to aid him 
against the parliament. 

The soldiers unanimously elected Morrice as their governor, yet 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 241 

being aware that there were gentlemen of rank and distinction in the 
castle, who might look upon him with a jealous eye, he refused it ; 
at the same time presenting sir John Digby to their notice ; but he 
deeming himself unequal to the undertaking, submitted himself to be 
made their nominal governor, whilst Morrice was considered as the 

j;. real governor, and this was negatived to by none. 

ft Morrice on the 16th June, granted a safe escort, to Mr. Tennet, 

the minister, to depart from the town, and Mr. Charles Davison offici- 
ated in his place. On the 17th he constituted a council of war, and 
orders were made for the better government of the garrison. The 
council consisted of 

Sir Philip Monckton, Major general Byson, 

Col. Anthony Gibby, Colonel Roger Portington, 

Lieut, col. Michael Stanhope, Lieut, col. Emanuel Gibby, 

Colonel James Washington, Captain Wm. Paulden. 

Colonel John Morrice, Governor and President, 

This council of war, being nominated by the governor, and by him, 
and us whose names are hereunto subscribed, it is unanimously approv- 
ed. We do hereby oblige ourselves, to obey all orders, — that every 
gentleman and officer, upon leave desired, shall have liberty for his or 
their advantage, to serve in this or any other of his majesty's garrisons. 



Robert Portington, John Cooper, 

Thomas Crathorn, Leonard Reresby, 

Raphael Ashton, Edward Webb, 

Wat Saltonstall, or Norbington, Jo. Battley, 

John Benson, Alan Austwick, 

Robert Heron, William Palmer, 

Henry Dunbar, William Bamfordj. 

William Slater, Jo. Horsfall, 

Edward Skepper, Tim. Paulden, 

Francis Reresby. George Bonevant, 

Edward Monckton, William Wentworth, 

Thomas Man, Nicholas Manris, 

Otho Wosewkeille, John Corker, 

Thomas Webb, Gervace NeviU 

Cecil Cooper, Jo. Grymsdyth, 

On th? other side were written 

Geo. Metham, Josh. Constable^ 

Mar. Colmundley, Fras. Aiswright» 
Robt. Riddell, 
This council agreed on the following articles of war ; dated July 
20th, 1648 :— 

First : — It is ordered and agreed upon — That after the arming of 
the governor, colonel John Morrice, and hi« regiment of foot y colonel 

H H 



242 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



Vernon shall have the supernumerai'y fixtures for the arming of his 
regiment, for the use of this garrison, and to re-deliver them fixt 
again, to the governor, when he shall demand the same. 

Secondly : — That major Edward Gower, command as major of all 
the horse belonging to the garrison, and have authority from them for 
that purpose. 

Thirdly : — That captain William Gower command as major of the 
foot quartered in the town of Pontefract. 

FourtJily : — That no constables or other persons brought into the 
garrison for want of their assessment, shall he detained upon any 
pretence whatsoever, having given satisfaction to the treasurer for 
their assessment, without especial order from them. 

Fifthly : — That if any be brought in, or monies brought in for the 
use of the garrison, he or they shall give notice to the governor or 
treasurer within four hours. 

Sixthly : — That sir Hugh Cartroll muster most of all the foot. 

Seventhly : — That colonel Roger Portington, and colonel James 
Washington, be assistants to the new treasurers, sir Hugh Cartroll 
and Mr. Nevil. 

Eighthly : — That if any officer, gentleman, or soldier be negligent 
upon any duty, commanded hhn by his superiors, or go from his 
guard without order, or any ways be disobedient to him, in the lawful 
martial commands, he shall forfeit a day's pay, and be disarmed at the 
head of the troops, or company wherein he serves, and shall be im- 
prisoned twenty-four hours, and the day's pay be disposed of to his 
fellow- soldiers. 

Signed, 

John Monice, ' ' Wm. Gower, 

V. Cromwell, Radclif Buckerfield, 

Richard Dyson, Gervace Reresby, 

Edward Gower,* Edward Jones, 

Roger Portington,^ C. Congreve. 
Urian Legh,^ 

The regular troops of the parliament were principally under the 
command of gen. Lambert, who had been sent to watch the motions 
and check the progress of sir Philip Musgrave, and sir Marmaduke 
Langdale, in the north. The committee of the militia in Yorkshire, 
immediately appointed sir Edward Rhodes,* and sii- Heniy Cholmley, 



* Rhodes, sir Edward. Wilson derives the pedigree of this family from the 
Rhodes', barons of Horncastle, in the county of Lincoln. In the Milnes' pedigree, 
(Beetham's Baronetage,) there is no notice of any connection between the two families; 
and the account begins with Francis Rhodes, of Stavely Woodthorpe, in the county of 
Derby, esq. one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas, in the time of Elizabeth. 
He died Jan. 7, 31st year of Elizabeth. The judge was twice married, and had issue by 
both his wives. The eldest son of the first marriage, was sir John Rhodes, of Balboi- 
ou&h, whose second son, sir Francis Rhodes, was created a baronet, August 14, 1641, 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACr. 243 

to levy troops, with orders to draw near to Pontefract, and if they 
found themselves not sufficiently strong to form the siege of the castle, 
then to endeavour to keep in the garrison, and preserve the surround- 
ing country from being plundered. 

A week elapsed before these orders of the committee could in any 
degree be executed ; and during this time the royalists put the garrison 
in good order, and repaired and renewed such fortifications as they 
judged necessary for their defence. They supplied themselves with 
provisions of all sorts j and such numbers of their friends came, into 
the castle from the counties of York, Nottingham, and Lincoln, that 
they became sufficiently powerful, not only to defend the castle, but 
commence oflFensive operations against the enemy. 

About this time they had information gjven them, that two troops 
of horse under the command of a captain Clayton, were escorting a 
herd of 300 cattle into the south, and that they were then resting ai. 
Knottingley. On gaining this intelligence, captain Thomas Paulden 
with thirty horse and six foot soldiers armed with half pikes, issued 
out of the garrison, under cover of the night, and having reached the 
village, the horse attacked the guards, whilst the infantry v/ith their 
half pikes drove the herd before them. The horse then followed the 
herd and marched between* them artd the infantry, which so intimi- 
dated the enemy, they did not dafe to charge ; and Paulden and his 
warriors returned safe to the castle with this seasonable supply. And 

The second ^son of the first marriage, was sir Peter Rhodes, of Hickleton, in this 
countY* 

Sir Godfrey Rhodes, of Great Houghton, in the county of York, the fourth son of 
the Judge, but eldest son of the second marriage, had issue sir Edward Rhodes, of 
Great Houghton, knight. In the civil war, he took an active part in favour of the 
parliament. The great earl of Strafford married his daughter, and on this account he 
was suspected of not being hearty in the cause. He was taken into custody, and witli 
the Hothams committed to the tower, but as nothing could be proved ae'ainst him, he 
was liberated. He seems, however, to have acted on principle, and we find him 
engaged throughout this contest in the support of the parliament. After the battle of 
Preston, he was ordered by Cromwell to collect what troops he could, and pursue the 
flying duke of Hamilton. He lived till after the restoration, and in the 2d of Charles II. 
was High Sheriff of this county. As he continued a dissenter, it is probable his con- 
nection with Wentworth, earl of Strafford, whose attainder was reversed after the 
restoration, was the reason why he was permitted to fill this office. His house became 
an asylum to the ejected ministers, who refused to comply with the act of uniformity. 

He had issue William Rhodes, of Great Houghton, esq. his third son, and at 
length heir, who married Frances, daughter of R. Wilson, of Leeds, merchant, who 
was great-grandfather to Christopher Wilson, late bishop of Bristol, father of Christo- 
pher Wilson, of Elmsal Lodge. William Rhodes, had Richard Rhodes, of Great 
Houghton, esq. -who married Martha, daiighter of Elkanah Rich, esq. of Bull-house, in 
the parish of Penniston, and only sister of the whole blood of Aymcr Rich, esq. of the 
same place. The said R. Rhodes, died February 4, 1720—1, and had issue by the said 
Martha, his wife, two daughters coheirs, of whom Mary, the eldest died unmarried, 
March 14, 1789, and was buried atDartield ; Martha, the younger, married Hans Busk, 
of Leeds, merchant, and had issue by him, Mary Anne, married to the late James 
Milnes, esq. of Thornes House ; Martlia, who died unmarried ; and Rachael, who mar- 
ried R. Slater Milnes, esq. of Frystone. 

The family of Milnes, to which the Rhodes' estates have descended, is originally 
from Ashford, in the county of Derby, and-in the court rolls of the manors of Ashford, 
can be traced back as chiefcopyhold'ers, to the time of Edward J. The pedigree of this 
family exhibits a most striking instance of commercial enterprise and success ; and it 
may be questioned whether it caH be equalled in this respect, by any other family in 
the kingdom, Vide Beethan. 



244 HISTORY OF PONTKFRACT. 

now, what with the provision found in the castle, and those supplies 
obtained in the markets and by sallies, these courageous soldiers had 
gained sufficient to last them for nine months ; and where thus enabled 
to make a stout and long defence in case of a siege. 

Another party from the castle had, on the 3rd of July, pushed 
forward as far as the Trent, and taken the Island of Axholm. They 
afterwards proceeded to Lincoln, where they plundered the friends of 
the parliament, and took captains Bret, and Fines, and Mr. Ellis prison- 
ers, and killed Mr. Smith, an officer of the sequestrations. The 
conduct of this party was highly imprudent, in pushing forward to so 
great a distance, unsupported by any body of reserve. Had they 
retreated precipitately, they might probably have reached the castle 
in safety ; but instead of adopting this line of conduct, they remained, 
regardless of danger, for some days in Lincoln, and its vicinity. In 
their progress, numbers of royalists had joined them, and the horse 
BOW amounted to 1000, besides the infantry. Colonel Rossiter 
fell in with them on their return, at a place called Willowby Field, 
routed the whole party, took both horse and their riders, the com- 
mander in chief and all his officers, with all their bag and baggage ; 
the remainder fled and there were not many slain*. 

The disaster which befel the last mentioned party, did not prevent 
other parties from issuing forth on similar plundering expeditions ; 
and by raising contributions, they rendered themselves terrible to the 
adherents of the parliament. They took many substantial men pris- 
oners, whom they carried to the castle and detained there, till they 
redeemed themselves by the payment of large sums of money for their 
ransom. Sir Arthur Ingram f was carried off from his own house at 
Temple Newsome, by a marauding party ; nor could he regain his 
liberty until he had paid 1,500/, 



*r - * Whitlock, p. 318. 

t Ingram, sir Arthur, a wealthy citizen of London, purchased the manor of Tem- 
ple Newsome, and other lands in Yorkshire, and was High SherifiF of the county of 
York, in 1619, He had a son Arthur, wlio was also High Sheriff in 1630, On the com- 
mencement of the Civil war, he took the part of the parliament, and continued to 
adhere to the same cause. The royalists paid him this domiciliary visit, and retorted 
on him the conduct of the parliamentarians. 

He had a son, sir Thomas, who was in favour with Charles IT. ; and was appointed 
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and sworn one of his majesty's privy council. 
He married Frances, daugliter of viscount Falconberge; but dying without issue, was 
succeeded by liis brother sir Arthur, and he by his eldest son, sir Henry, who having 
manifested his loyalty to king Charles I. and H. was by the latter created lord Ingram, 
and viscount Irvine or Irwin. He married lady Essex, eldest daughter of the second 
earl of Manchester, and had issue two sons and a daughter. 

Arthur, who succeeded him as viscount, married'isabel, daughter of John Mitchel, 
of Horsiiam, in Essex, esq. by whom he had isatie seven sons, Richard, Edward, Artliur, 
Henry and Charles, successively viscounts Irvine; George canon of Windsor, and 
chaplain to the House of Commons ; and William, an eminent merchant in Holland. 
By the failure of the male line, the title became extinct in 1782. The female branches 
have married into some of the first families in the kingdom. 

A younger branch of the Ingram family settled at Knollingley, which has now 
become extinct. 



HISTORY OK PONTEFRACT. 245 

Whilst these events were passing here, Cromwell had subdued 
colonels Langhorn, Powel, and Payer, and had completely over- run 
Wales. He afterwards pushed through Cheshire and Lancashire, 
and having entered Yorkshire, reached Pontefract on the 4th of 
of August, and remained here until the 11th, plundering the town. 
He then departed to join Lambert near Knaresbro'. The duke of 
Hamilton with the Scotch, had entered England on the 13th of 
July, and joined Langdale, and they had marched with their forces 
which were said to be 20,000 strong, by way of Kendall, towards 
Lancashire. Cromwell joined his forces to those under the command 
of Lambert, and their army now amounting to 5000 horse and 7000 
foot, they pursued them, and coming up with the horse under Langdale, 
at Preston, on the 17th August, immediately commenced an attack. 
The battle was very bloody and lasted for two hours, when the royalists 
sustained a total defeat with the loss of 1000 slain and of prisoners, 
greater than the whole parliamentarian army. Capt. Timothy Paulden, 
one of those gentlemen who had first agreed to surprise our castle, 
added to the number of the slain. He was major in colonel Boynton's 
regiment, under the earl of Derby, and was unfortunately shot as he 
was crossing a small stream. On the 26th of August, the governor of 
our castle agreed with the mayor and aldermen of the town about the 
corn, " that the castle should have a seventh part, and the townsmen 
to bring it near to the castle," and the governor imposed upon the 
town to quarter 1000 men, or pay for each four-pence per day. He 
was compelled to levy this heavy charge ; for although the horse had 
been sent away on the 3rd July with, sir Philip Monckton and other 
commanders into Lincolnshire, where they were routed by the forces of 
col. Rossiter, and had sustained a great loss ; yet, such great numbers 
flocked to him, that he could not provide for them so well, as he could 
when the horse attended him, as they assisted him greatly in pro- 
curing provisions and gathering contributions. " "^ 
The successive defeats of the royalists at Wigan, Warrington, &c. 
destroyed the hopes of that party. The garrison here were sensibly 
aifected by these events ; and particularly at whg.t had befallen their 
old general, sir Marmaduke Langdale. He and some others, with a 
part of the Scotch army, had fled to Utoxeter, in Staffordshire. General 
Lambert pursued them with such rapidity that they were immediately 
assaulted, and duke Hamilton with most of the oflicers taken prisoners 
by the lord Grey of Groby. Langdale, it is said, disguised himself, 
and with a few others, made his escape ; but was taken soon after, at 
an inn near Nottingham, and committed to the castle there. 

Disturbances had also burst forth in the gari'ison, a duel between 



246 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Mr. Byford and Mr. Buuckley had taken place, and a misdemeanor liad 
been committed, therefore Morrice deemed it prudent to call a council 
of war to quell all strifes, and enact other orders ; a council then 
assembled on the / th October, which was composed of the following 
gentlemen :-^ 

Major John Moirice, Governor, President. 

- Sir John Digby, Mr. Redhead, 

Sir Hugh Cartrit, Capt. Benson, 

Col. Washington, Capt. Thos. Paulden, 

William Paulden, ' Capt. Ashby, 

William Saltonstall, Capt. Marritt, 

Mr. Reresby, Capt. Palmer. 

It was ordered upon the debate of the duel, that Mr. Bunckley 
continue in the marshall's custody, and lieut. col. Ashton be confined 
to his chamber for acting as one of the seconds. 

That Mr. Taylor for a misdemeanor depart the garrison. 

That no gentleman, officer, or soldier fight any duel ; and who- 
ever is challenged, to forbear to fight, and make the governor acquainted 
with the same, resigning himself to him, or appealing to the board for 
satisfaction, upon pain of death. 

In the afternoon another council of the same persons was held, 
when it was ordered — , 

That every officer, gentleman, and sdldier of the garrison take an 
oath for the defence of the same. 

On the 9th of October, the parliamentarian troops entered the 
town and the garrison now began to foresee the calamities to which 
they would ere long be exposed. The king was destitute of forces, 
and they knew not from whence to gain supplies. No fortress save 
Scarbro* held out with them for the king, and the only prospect which 
cheered their drooping spirits was the unsettled state of the country. 
They were now beset on every side with troops, and every succeeding 
day poured fresh foes upon them. The army of Cholmley occupied 
the neighbouring villages Cwhither they had come in the month of 
September,) of Ackworth, Featherston, and Ferrybridge ; and the 
town of Pontefract presented to their ^view a forest of bristling 
spears. 

Thus did they hold out in doubt and perplexity, sustaining with 
patience the repeated showers of grape shot until about the 27th of 
October, when the garrison was summoned to surrender ; but either 
the terms offered were deemed dishonourable, or the spirit of the 
garrison too high to submit. It appears that a treaty of some kind 
had been entered into betwixt the besieged and the besiegers, as 
betters directed to the parliament from the committee at York, informed 



HISTORY OF FONTEFnACT. 



247 



the house ' that the treaty about Pontefract not taking effect, they 
desired 20,000/ for the soldiery/ and the house ordered 12,000/.* 

Lord Fairfax, general in chief, appointed gen. Rainsborough to 
command the troops before the castle of Pontefract. Sir Henry 
Cholmley,t who had been appointed to this command by the com- 
mittee of the militia, was highly oflFended at this appointment, and 
petitioned parliament against it. He seems to have considered it as a 
reflection on his honor and talents, and in a letter asserts ' that the dis- 
paragement to him would be great/ The house referred the letter 
and the whole of the business to general Fairfax, to settle it as he 
should think proper, but to take care to preserve the honor of sir 
Henry Cholmley, and to let the business be carried on against the 
enemy :|: . 

Cromwell, having settled the affairs of Scotland, and left general 
Lambert there with a few regiments, marched at the head of the rest 
of his forces into England. About the end of the month of August, he 
reached the confines of the county of York, and was petitioned to reduce 
the castles of Scarborough and Pontefract, which he promised to effect 
if possible. He then marched on to Newcastle, where he was received 
with every mark of respect and honor ; and he continued there for 

♦Whitlock, p. 336. 

t The family of Cholmley has long been seated at Whitby, Goldston, and Roxby, 
in the North Riding of this county. Sir Richard Cholmley, of Whitby, was high sheriff 
of this county, in the first of Edward IV. He married two wives, first, Margaret, 
daughterof V^illiarn lord Coniers, anA by her hehad issue three sons, Francis, Roger, and 
Richard, and three daughters, Margaret, (who married sir James Strangeways, of Great 
Smeaton,) Elizabeth, (who married Roger Beckwith, esq. son and heir of sir Leonard 
Beckwith, of Selby, knight,) Ann and Jane. 

His second wife was the daughter of Henry lord Clifford, the first earl of Cumber- 
land, and the widow of John lord Scroop, of Bolton. By her he had issue John who 
died young, Henry, and Catherine, who married R. Button, esq. of Whitby. 

Francis, son and heir of sir Richard, married Joan, daughter and coheir of sir 
Richard Bulmer, knight, but died without issue. ■* 

Sir Henry Cholmley, knight, second son by his second wife and heir to Francis, 
inherited the estate and married Margaret, daugliter of sir William Bapthorp, of Bap- 
thorp, knight. He had issue sir Richard, Henry, John, and Barbara, (who married sir 
Thomas Bellasis, bart. afterward created viscount Falconberg) Margaret, Dorothy, Hilda, 
and Mary, who married Henry Fairfax, rector of Bolton Percy, and second brother to 
Ferdinando, lord Fairfax, of Denton,) Ann, Susanna, and Arabella, 

Sir Richard, son and heir of Henry, married two wives ; first, Susanna, daughter 

of. Ledyard, esq. of Gatton, by whom he had issue, sir Hugh, sir Henry, (who 

married Katherine, daughter of Henry Stappleton, esq..of Wighill, widow of sir Geo. 
Twistleton, of Barlow, near Selby,- and two daughters, Mary and Ursula. 

His second wife was Margaret, daughter of Wm. Cobb, esq. and by her, he had 
issue sir Richard, (vrho married Margaret, daughter of John., lord Powlet.) This sir 
Richard Cholmley, was high sheriff, 1623. 

Sir Hugh, his son and heir, married Elizabeth, daughter of sir William Twisden, 
of East Peckham, in Kent, and had issue sir William, sir Samuel, Hugh, Elizabeth, 
and Ann. This sir Hugh was created a baronet in the year 1641. On the breaking out 
of the civil war, he threw himself into Scarbrough castle, of which he was governor for 
some time. He attended on the queen, with eight thousand horse and foot, which cost 
him 10,000L and for which he afterwards suffered a tedious banishment, and paid for his 
delinquincy 1850L 

Sir Henry, his younger brother, espoused the cause of the parliament ; was ap- 
pointed one of the comrnittee of the militia for Yorkshire, and commanded the troops 
before our castle. This is a singular instance of the unhappy divisions made in families 
during these troublesome times : brother literally rose against brother. 

The baronetage has become extinct ; and the male line of one of the branches has 
ended in an heiress, whose husband has by licence again taken the name of Cholmley, 
and resides at Housham. 

t Whiti,oc'k, p. 346. 



248 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

some time in order to settle the affairs of the northern countries He 
however dispatched a body of troops to Pontefract, to strengthen the 
beiegers ; and on the 30th of October the troops of the parliament, in 
and about Pontefract, kept a day of thanksgiving for his success in 
Scotland *. The castle was now completely environed and the whole 
of the troops, having now the addition of sir Edward Rhodes' squadrons, 
amounted to 5000 men. 

While the besiegers were thus exulting in the victories they had 
obtained, the besieged were suffering the vexation of disappointed 
hope, and envying the superior felicity of their enemies. They did 
not however sink in^to a state of apathy and indifference, but 
retained their usual valour and prudence . They were as bold and 
courageous to attack their enemies, by well conducted sallies, as they 
were resolute and firm to resist, when attacked. A party from the 
garrison issued forth on the 3 1st, and fell on the beseigers with such 
impetuosity as to bear down all before them. In this rencontre they 
slew many, and made some prisoners. 

On some occasions both the besiegers and besieged rested on their 
arms, and drank to one another by the name of hroiher Boundhead, 
and brother Cavalier : epithets which distinguished the adherents of 
the parliament, and of the king. 

The besiegers had not hitherto made any impression on the garri- 
son ; nor had they straitened or confined them in any degree, as they 
still kept possession of the New-Hall, as an outwork to the castle. 
'i"he little progress made in the siege, notwithstanding the numbers of 
men employed, sufficiently proved that either sir Henry Cholmley was 
unequal to the command, or that he was negligent in the discharge of 
the duties of his office. It is probable that general Fairfax, who knew 
the strength of the castle, considered a more able and experienced 
officer necessary to reduce it ; and that on this account, he adhered to 
his former appointment of general Rainsborough to the chief command. 

Whether Rainsborough ever came to Pontefract, to take the com- 
mand, is not clear. It appears from letters sent from York to the 
parliament, that the difference between sir H. Cholmley and Rains- 
borough gave great advantage to the enemy. From this it should 
seem that Rainsborough did come, and sir H. Cholmley would not 
give up the command to him. If Rainsborough did come he must have 
soon departed, and left sir H. Cholmley again to conduct the siege. 

The unsuccessful manner in which the siege was carried on, at 
length compelled the general in chief to send Rainsborough, with twc 
regiments of horse and twelve himdred foot, to take the command. 

* Whitlock , p. 346, 



rrrsTORY of pontefkact. 240 

He was esteemed a person of great courage and conduct, exceeding" 
zealous aod fierce in the cause of parliament, and had done great 
service by land, and also at sea, where he wa& for a time, one of the 
admirals. Having reached Doncaster, he fixed his head quarters there^ 
with the infantry, whilst &ne regiment of his horse lay three or fotxr 
miles east of the town, and another at the litke distance on the east^ 
Captain William Paulden formed a schem>e to surprise and take 
Rainsborough prisoner, with an intention to exdiange him for sir M. 
Langdale. The scheme, on reflection, would seem rash and wholly 
impracticable. How could a few men surprise an intrepid and expe- 
rienced general in the midst of his troops ? Yet, that which seems^ 
improbable on the ground of reason is often rendered certain by the 
united efforts of prudence and courage. 

At midnight, on the 31st of October, captain Paulden, taking' 
twenty-two select Yorkshiremen in whom he could most confide, well 
mounted, rode through the open gate over the meadows between two 
of the enemy's horse guards, whom by favour of the night, they passed 
undiscovered. They were all good guides, and understood the ways 
public and private very exactly. At break of day they reached Mex- 
borough, from whence they sent a &py to Doncaster, to know if there 
was any previous caution sent against them, and ordered him to meet 
them at Conisborough when the day was closed. In the mean time 
they refreshed themselves and their horses till about noon. At nighl 
the spy returned, and assured them there was no mistrust, and at 
sunrise a person would come with a bible in his hand, as a silent indica- 
tion that all was right, according to their earnest desire. On the 
following morning, by break of day, the man accordingly came; and 
captain Wm. Paulden having crossed the Don a little below Gonisbro*, 
divided his twenty-two men* into four parties, six were to attack the 
main guard, six the guard upon the bridge, four were oi'dered to gen. 
Rainsborough's quarters, and the captain with the remaining six, after 
he had seen the four men enter the general's lodgings, was to beat about 
the street and prevent the enemy from assembling. On their approach 
to the town, they forced the first barricadoes, the soldiers fled into the 
country, and the guard on the bridge, having flung their weapons into 
the water, scampered for their lives. The main guard was suddenly 
surprised, by the party entering the guard chamber and get- 
ting between them and their arms ; and the men were ordered to 
disperse and make the best of their way out of danger. In the mean 
time the artful captain and his party were tracing the town to prevent 

* Dr. Miller, in his history of Doncaster, says Paulden had forty men, but in the 
letter of captain Thomas Paulden, it is stated only twenty-two. 

1 I 



250 HISTOllY OF PONTEFRACT. 

their enemies from joining together. Those royalists who came to the 
the general's lodgings^ pretended to the guard and the lieutenant, who 
were on duty, that they had brought letters from Cromwell, who had 
beaten the Scots. The gate of the inn being opened, three of them 
only went in, the other rode to the bridge leading to Pontefract, where 
he expected and found a guard of horse and foot, with whom he 
entered into discourse, telling them ' that he stayed for his officer who 
was gone in to speak with the general/ and called for some drink. The 
guards making no question of his being a friend, sent for drink and 
talked with him of news, and it being now broad day, some of the 
horse alighted, and the foot went over to the court of the guard, con- 
ceiving that morning's work to be over. Of the three who entered the 
inn gate, two only went up, and the other remained below and held 
the horses, and talked with the soldier who had walked with them 
from the guard. The two, who went up stairs, were introduced by the 
lieutenant into Rainsborough's chamber.* He had been awakened by 
the noise of opening the door, but was stUl in bed. The lieutenant 
told him they had brought him letters from general Cromwell ; upon 
which they delivered to him a packet containing only blank paper. 
While he was employed in opening it, one of them seized his sword, 
and the other disarmed- the lieutenant, and then informed him, 'that 
he was their prisoner; but that not a hair of his head should be 
touched, if he would go quitely with them.' Not having the means of 
resistance, nor knowing the strength of the enemy, and astonished at 
this unexpected event, the general yielded to the necessity of his cir- 
cumstances, and prepared to go with them. The lieutenant being 
also disarmed was led down stairs likewise by the soldiers. 

Having dressed himself as speedily as possible, he was led down 
stairs and conducted into the street. Rainsborough was^ then desired 
to mount the horse they had prepared for him. He placed his foot 
into the stirrup and looked around him, and perceiving only four roy- 
alists and an armed centinel stood by his lieutenant, he refused to 
mount, and cried out to arms ! to arms ; The royalists now seized 
him, with^ the resolution of binding and placing him behind their com- 
panion, who had already mounted his horse, and had designed in this 
manner to have conveyed him to the castle of Pontefract. Rainsbor- 
ough, although without arms, exerted his utmost efforts to disengage 
himself; and during the struggle, one of the royalists unfortunately 
let his sword and pistol fell. The latter instrument of death was 

* General Rainsborough lodged in a house occupied by a Mr. Wm. Smith, whicli 
was situated on the western side of the cross in Doncaster.— Miller's History of Dou.- 
taster,, p. 55o, 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. "SM 

snstantly seized by Rainshorough's lieutenant, who immediately 
prepared to discharge its contents at captain Wm. Paulden ; and lieu- 
tenant Allen Austwick, who was the person that had mounted his 
horse, in oider to take Rainsborough behind him, no sooner observed 
the pistol in the hand of an enemy, than he sprung from his horse and 
run him through the body, at the moment he was cocking the pistol 
for execution. 

Rainsborough still continued the unequal contest. His opponents 
found him to be a brave and veteran soldier, who respected his honour 
more than his life. He had already received a wound in his neck by 
cornet Blackburne, but springing upon his feet, and having seized the 
fallen sword, would have slain his opponents, had not lieut. Austwick, 
enraged at so desperate a resistance, drenched his sword in the blood 
of the courageous general, which laid him in the middle of the street, 
where he entered into the shades of death.* 

On this they mounted their horses, and rode towards their com- 
panions, before any of the tioops of the enemy could collect together. 
The different parties of royalists having joined, marched towards the 
bridge ; and dispersing the guard in all directions, took the shortest 
course towards Pontefract. 

This unexpected attack had thrown the town of Doncaster Into the 
utmost consternation. Hundreds of the soldiers rose from their beds, 
and fled across the fields undressed. Others came into the street ; and 
on seeing their general and the lieutenant weltering in their blood, but 
meeting with no enemies, were wholly at a loss how to act. Forty or 
fifty of these timorous souls were taken captive by them on their 
return and conducted to the castle, where the brave adventurers were 
received by their friends with hearty acclamations. As they did not 
know v/hat direction they had taken, they could not with propriety 
pursue. So that the royalists environed by a force of not less than 
12,000 foot and two regiments of horse, slew the enemy's general, 
took forty or fifty prisoners, without the loss of a single man.f 

Had the design of the royalists been to have murdered Rainsbo- 
rough, they ought to be considered as no better than midnight 

* In Drake's Eboracum, p. 171, it states that Morrice was the person, by whom 
Rainsborough was slain ; and Whiteloclc states, p. 346, that the royalists were forty in 
number, and that Rainsborough fell beneath the swords of three of the soldiers in his 
chamber on the 29th of October; but these two accounts must be very erroneous, as 
captain Thomas Paulden, who was one of the party, states that he fell in the street 
from the weapon of Austwick. 

t This enterprise and death of Rainsborough is thus noted in Clarendon's History 
ofthe Rebellion, p. 354. 

* Oct. 29, 1648. Colonel Rainsborough was slain at Doncaster, by a party of Cava= 
liers that sallied out of Pontefract, then besieged by sir Edward Rhodes and the county 
forces, as he was in his inn and his soldiers about him, under pretence of delivering 
him a letter from Cromwell. They would only have taken him prisoner, and carried him 
through his own leagure, into their castle ; but he refusing, they pistoled him in his 
oiiamber and departed untoucht, — a strange, yet brave adventure.' 



252 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



assassins, in this case the whole transaction will appear barbarous 
and cruel, and altogether unbecoming the character of the valiant and 
the brave. As one* of the actors in this fatal tragedy has assured the 
public this was not theu* design, truth compels us to acknowledge the 
whole justified by the laws of honor and war. Their old general had 
been taken prisoner, and the garrison had been threatened, *that unless 
they surrendered the castle, he would be brought and executed before 
its walls/ Love to him prompted them to take Rainsborough prisoner, 
that in case any violence was offered to him, it might be retorted on 
Rainsborough, or at least the one be exchanged for the other. 

Such was the design, and it appears from the detail, that the 
tragical event which occurred, arose from particular circumstances. It 
is obvious that if the general had made no resistance his life would 
have been spared ; but has he did resist, the law of self-preservation 
compelled the royalists to act as they did. Had they left him to have 
collected his troops, their number was too small to have withstood the 
charge ; and they must either have fallen by the sword, or have been 
made prisoners. 

On theh" retui-n from this expedition, they had the satisfaction to 
heai* that sir Marmaduke Langdale had fortunately made his escape f 
from Nottingham castle, the night previous to this adventurous exploit 
He fled to prince Charles, then in exile ; and on his retiirn with him 
at the restoration, in rememberance of and gratitude for his sei*vices, 
was made a baron of the realm, by the title of baron Langdale, of 
Holm, upon Spaldingmoor, in this county. 

But a few days turned their joy into grief, for the loss of the truly 
wise, courageous, and heroic capt. W. Paulden who died in the castle 
of a high fever, and was buried in the chapel of St. Clement, by the 
Rev. Mr. Beaumont. 

After this singular event, the besiegers do not seem to have been 
more successful than they had hitherto been. Sir H. Cholmley sent 
letters to the house, complaining of the mismanagement, and ill suc- 
cess of the siege. From this it should seem that there was either a 
spirit of insubordination among the troops, or a general disagreement 
among the officers. The vigilance, activity and courage of the gar- 
rison, put them on severe duty as well as exposed them to severe 
losses ; and it cannot excite surprise, that both officers and men 
should disrelish the service. 

At length Cromwell himself arrived here, and adopted every 

* Captain Thomas Paulden, vid. his letter to a friend, dated 31st. March, 1702. 

t Sir jNIarmaduke Langdale owed his escape to Lady Saville, wife of sir William 
Sa*'ille, ©f Thornhill, in this county, the daughter of Thomas lord Coventry, lord keeper 
of the weat seal. She conducted her designs respecting Langdale with such secrecy 
and address, that he was liberated from prison, and reached the continent before his 
enemies knew that he was missing. 



HISTORY OK rONTEFRACT. 253 

measure to restrain the excursions of the garrison, and to induce them 
to surrender the fortress. The name of Cromwell, like that of the 
modern scourge of Europe, inspired terror, and nearly of itself gave 
success to his enterprises. Relying on this and the general circum- 
stances of the country, he summoned the governor to surrender the 
castle to the use of the parliament. 

The governor did not think it prudent to treat this summons with 
ahsolute indiflference, but replied ' that if general Cromwell was autho- 
rized to treat with the garrison, and was possessed of powers to 
perform the conditions, he was ready to enter into such treaty.' As 
Cromwell had no particular powers given to him for this purpose by 
parliament, the governor was not satisfied ; nor did he think it prudent 
to treat with Cromwell, on the authority which he possessed as lieu- 
tenant general. In consequence of this the siege was prosecuted with 
greater vigour. Lines of circumvallation were drawn wholly around 
the castle, and forts erected in places deemed most proper to check 
the garrison, and prevent them obtaining any supplies. 

On the 15th of November, Cromwell sent letters to the house, 
stating the necessities of his troops before Pontefract castle, and 
requested immediate supplies. This letter was referred to the com- 
mittee of the army to consider of the particulars, and to supply them. 
An order was given for two hundred and fifty barrels of powder, with 
match and bullet proportionable, to be sent for the forces before the 
castles of Pontefract and Scarborough. An order was also given, on 
the 18th, for two great cannon to be sent to the same troops, in order 
to facilitate the reduction of these places. 

At this period both the king and parliament were placed in the 
most critical circumstances. On the departure of the anny from 
London, the parliament had assumed its usual vigour, and unawed by 
the presence of the army, had acted with its usual spirit of independ- 
ence. The leading members had exerted themselves to bring about an 
agreement with the king ; and as the army had now wholly subdued 
the Scotch, it seemed the interest of both parties to come to an imme- 
diate agreement in order to prevent the dreadful catastrophe which 
soon followed. The king, in the conference at' Newport, remained 
fixed to the adage of his father, no bishop, no king ; and on the other 
hand the house was equally resolved to establish the presbyterian 
form of church government. Thus by the unyeilding spirit of both 
parties the time was spent and nothing concluded. 

The army, under the direction of a council of their officers, now 
began, not to petition the house, but by their general in chief * to de- 
mand justice upon the king.' This language clearly indicates that the 



254 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

design of putting the king to death was ah-eady [.formed ; and the 
petitions of the army were intended only to prepavejthe public for the 
event. Every regiment engaged in the siege of our castle, presented 
petitions to Cromwell, which he forwarded to the general, breathing the 
same spirit. On the remonstrance of the army at St. Albans, and the 
seizure of the king by col. Ewer, Cromwell wrote, from Knottingley, 
expressing his approbation of what the officers and army had done. 

The superior number of the forces of the enemy to th« besieged, 
and the vigorous manner in which the siege was conducted, began 
now to produce its natural consequences. Some of the garrison were 
dispirited, as they could not have the least foundation to hope for any 
relief. Others, by deserting to the enemy, equEilly betrayed the cause 
they had espoused, and the fears which influenced their conduct. The 
garrison, however, contained many whom no dangers could appal ; nor 
any circumstances induce to forfeit their honour. At this period 
they made a desperate sally ; but after an arduous contest, in which 
many were slain, they were compelled by superior numbers to retreat 
to the castle. 

Cromwell, who had now remained a month before this fortress, and 
who doubtless would have been glad to have had the honour of ter- 
minating the siege, found it necessary to depart, and join the grand 
army under Fairfax, in order to accomplish the design which had been 
formed. Previous to his departure he had sent for general Lambert 
out of the north, and appointed him to the chief command of the forces 
before the castle. Lambert arrived here on the 4th of December. 

Enraged at the death of Rainsborough*, Cromwell ordered general 
Lambert to take vengeance on the garrison ; and having brought 
with him what forces he thought necessary, the castle was more closely 
surrounded than ever. He raised some new works, and by regular 
approaches towards the castle, effectually cut off all correspondence 
and supplies, hoping the garrison would at last yield to famine, if 
nothing else could subdue them. Although the garrison made several 
bold and vigorous sallies, in which many lives were lost on both sides, 
these efforts were unavailing, and were uniformly compelled to retreat. 

During these transactions, colonel Pride had destroyed the 
independence of parliament, by guarding the house and preventing 
those members, who were inimical to the designs of the army from 
entering the House of Commons, if it now deserved that name, 

* There was not an officer in the army whom Cromwell would not more willingly 
have lost than this man, who was bold and barbarous to his wish, and fit to be trusted in 
the most desperate interest, and was the man to whom that party had always intended to 
commit the maritime affairs, when it should be time to dismiss the earl of Warwick ; 
he having been bred in that element, and known the duty of it very well, though he 
had the misfortune before mentioned. Clarendon. 





i 




)Ui-ii ^n>cS 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



'255 



imder the direction of the general and the officers, resolved to bring 
the king to a public trial. Lambert, and the officers under him, sent 
a letter from Pontefract, expressing their approbation of what had 
been done, and acknowledging * that the present proceedings of the 
army was the work of God alone.* 

On the 30th of January, 1649, Charles I. was beheaded; and the 
report of this event had no sooner reached Pontefract, than the garri- 
son loyally proclaimed his son Charles II. and made a vigorous and 
destructive sally against their enemies. In the castle Morrice struck 
the first silver coins in this kingdom which bore the name of Charles 
II.* 

Notwithstanding the sallies of the garrison, and the occasional 
losses the besiegers sustained, the activity, prudence, and perseverance 
of Lambert precluded all hope of deliverance. He now discovered 
many of the country people who held correspondence with, and gave 
intelligence to, the garrison. Among these were two divines, and 
some women of rank, friends and relatives of the besieged. The Rev. 
George Beaumont,t being judged one of the most criminal, was seized 
and executed. He was chaplain to the garrison at this period, and 
rector of South Kirkby in this neighbourhood. His zeal for the ro3'al 
cause had led him to engage in the attempt to surprise the castle. He 
was one of Morrice's principal associates ; and at his house was held 
the meeting, when the plan was laid how to effect it. He afterwards 
kept up a correspondence with the garrison in characters, which were 

* On one of these coins was the impression ef a castle, with the letters P. G. on 
each side of the central tower, and on the sinister side thereof the letters o6s; on the 
reverse a crown, with the inscription round it ' Dvm spiro spero,' and in the field C. R.; 
on another was the impression of a castle with the letters P. C. on each side of the cen- 
tral tower, and o6s on the sinister side of the field, and liad around it the inscriptioa 
''Post Mortem patris pro filio,' and on the reverse in the field, ' Hanc devs dedit,' and 
around it a • crown, Carolvs 11. D. G. Mag. B. F. ET. H. Rex.' yide Plate, 

t The Rev. George Beaumont was cousin to sir Thomas Beaumont of Lascelles 
Hall and Whitley. Sir Thomas was governor of Sheffield castle till its surrender to 
general Grauford, on the 4th of August, 1644. He had before been summoned to sur- 
render by the earl of Manchester, but refused He accepted the conditions offered by 
general Grauford, and enjoyed his liberty by taking the engagement oath, to demean 
himself as became a good subject. It appears from the following affidavit that he was 
sent for to London. 

' Eliz. Beaumont doth depose, that her husband Thomas Beaumont is att this 
tim€ soe ill and infirm in body by reson of several bruises and hurts wliich he hath got- 
ten in the castles of Sheffield and Pomfret, that hee is not able to travill to London 
without danger of his life ; and doth further depose, that she saw him take the negative 
oath before the committee at York, and dbtli depose that there is yearly paid out of 
his lands, &c. &c. 

Jurata, 9th Feb. 1645, coram Eliz. B, Beaumont.' 

Me Edwino Riche. 

He however engaged a second time in supporting the royal cause, and his estate was 
sequestered. His wife compounded for the estate, and the "sum paid was seven hundred 
pounds. Being a suspected character and a notorious delinquent, he was kept a pri- 
soner at York, from the I8th of January, 1655, till the 16th of August following. 

His cousin, the Rev. George Beaumont, was equally zenJous in the royal cause^ 
and engaged in it so far as unhappily to lose his life, 



256 



HISTORY OF PON'lEFKACT. 



discovered by an intercepted letter. He was seized and imprisoned by 
order of Lambert;* and after by being loaded with extreme heavy 
irons, he was tortured to discover his characters, and those who were 
concerned with him in the conspiracy. Constant and faithful to his 
principles he refused to make any discovery; in consequence of which 
he was tried and executed within two hoiu's, before the castle;t and to 
complete this outrageous barbarity, one of his own relations was com- 
pelled to assist at his execution. He left a wife and four small children 
with very little for their maintenance, to mourn his loss. 

The besieged having lost many of their brave comrades, and many 
others being confined by sickness ; their provisions almost spent, and 
having no prospect of relief, at length offered to treat for the surren- 
der of the castle, on honorable terms. They however declared, ' that 
unless the terms were such as they could in honour accept, they had 
provisions yet for a good time ; that they were not afraid to die ; and 
if compelled, they would sell their lives at as dear a price as they 
possibly could.' 

Lambert receiving these hints, answered by throwing letters over 
the wall, in which a stone was wrapped, 'that he knew they were 
gallant men, and that he desired to preserve as many of them as wa» 
in his power to do, but he must require six of them to be given up ta 
him, whose lives he could not save which he was sorry for, since they 
were brave men, but his hands were bound, and he could not mention 
their names till after the treaty was signed by the governor. All the 
rest, he said, he was content to release, so that they might return 
to their own homes secure and unmolested, and apply for easy compo- 
sitions for their delinquency, towards which he would do them all the 
good offices he could.' 

On receiving this answer, col. Morrice called the officers in the 
castle together, and it was unanimously agreed, not to deliver up any 
person without his consent. They therefore replied to gen. Lambert, 
' that they acknowledged his civility, and would be glad to embrace 
his offer, but they would never be guilty of so base a thing as to delive? 
up any of their companions.' 



* In a work entitled 'Chronicles of the Intestine Wars of England, Scotland and 
Ireland,— Printed in 1663, The account of the death of the Rev. George Beaumont is 
thus noted ■ — 

Feb. 7th, 1648 ,• ' Though they could not reach the king, and though some of his 
subjects had outreached them, yet many others could not escape them. Master Beau- 
mont, a minister belonging to the garrison, then beieagured by major general Lambert, 
in place of Rainsbrough, was taken for holding correlpondence in cypher, and by a 
council of war condemed and hanged before the castle, presently after the king's death, 
and deserves to be placed as the proto martyr for king Charles II. Heath 'Olim. St. 
Eccl. Ch. Oxon. (p. 421, Clarendon) 

t A noted historian states Mr. Beaumont to have been executed, for having faith- 
fully performed the duties of his sacred function to the besieged.. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 25/ 

Whatever might be the fortitude or attachment of the besieged to 
each other, necessity soon compelled them to enter into a new treaty 
with Lambert* The garrison, which at first consisted of more than 
500 men, was now reduced, by losses sustained in different sallies, 
desertion and sickness, to 100 ;* and some of these were in such a state 
of weakness as to be unfit for duty. Six officers on each side were 
chosen to settle the terms of surrender. 

Colonel Bright, t the principal of Lambert's commissioners/ 

* Paulden'^s Letter, 
t The family of Bright, which settled at Badsworth, near this ptace, sprang frorrl 

Thomas Bright, who married dauglfter of and had issue, Stephen 

and John. John was M.A. and vicar of Sheffield, 1636, (married Joanna, daughter of Mr. 

Smales, of Whaley, in Derbyshire,) he had issue, Stephen who died beyond tlie 

sea. John Bright, esq. one of the lords of the manor of Leeds, married Eleanor, daugh- 
ter of Mr. Wm. Bagnall, at Buryhill, in Staffordshire, widow of Mr. John Metcalf.of 
Leeds, merchant, but died sans issue. Ruth, who married Thomas Dixon, esq. James, 
third son, and Elizabeth, who married Mr. Parker, of Derbyshire. 

Stephen Bright, of Carbrook, esq. the son and heir of Thomas, married two wives, 
first Joanna or Sarah, daughter of Mr. George Westby, and widow of Mr. Smales, by 
her he had issue, sir John, and Thomas and Stephen, who both died young. Mary (who 
married William Jessop, of Broomball, esq.) and Ruth (who married Edward Gill, of 
Carhouse, esq.) His second wife, Barbara, was daughter of Mr. Ralph Hatfield, of 
Laughton-en-le Mothem, by her he had issue, Hannah, who died unmarried, and Mar- 
tha (who married William Lister, of Thornton, esq.) 

This Stephen died 6th June, 1642, aged sixty, and was bnried at Sheffield. H?« 
patent from sir John Borough, garter for his arms, is dated 17 Car. L His second wife 
survived, and married Thomas Westby, of Gilthwait, esq. 

Sir John Bright, of Badsworth, bart. son and heir of Stephen, married four wives 
first Catherine, daughter of sir Richard Hawksworth, of Hawksworth, knight, by her 
he had issue, three children, one son who died young, John, and Catherine, who mar- 
ried sir Henry Lyddall, of Ravensworth Castle, bart. and had issue, Thomas Lyddall, 
John, who took the surname of Bright, Henry, George, Michael, and Elizabeth. Hia 
second lady, was Elizabeth, daughter of sir Thomas Norcliffe, of Laughton, knight, by 
her he had issue, Dorothy, who died young. His third wife, Frances, was daughter of 
sir Thomas Lyddall, bart. father of the above sir Henry Lyddall, and widow of Thomas 
Vane» of Raby Castle^ esq. His fourth wife was Susanna, daughter of Michael Whar- 
ton, of Beverley, esq. S. P. Whose first lady, was widow of sir William Lister, af 
Thornton. 

This sir John was created a baronet 16th July, 1660, was sheriff of York, 1656, and 
1657- He died 13th September, 1688, and was buried at Badsworth, where he has a fine 
monument. He was baptised at Sheffield, 14th Oct. 1619. He in his last will left his 
name and estate to John, his grandson, second son of sir Henry Lyddall above men- 
tioned. He was a colonel under Oliver Cromwell, and sheriff of York,. 1650 and 1651,. 
after Oliver's death he promoted the restoration. 

John Bright, esq, of Badsworth, eldest son of sir John,, married lady L»cy Monta- 
gue, daughter of Edward earl of Manchester, but died without issue. . 

John Bright, esq of Badsworth, grandson and heir of sir John, married 

daughter of Clutterback, of London, had issue, 

John Bright, esq. of Badsworth, who married Margaret, daughter of William 

Norton, of Sawley, Park, esq. had issue his daughter and heir who married, 

Feb. 1752, Charles Watson Wentworth, of Wentworth Woodhouse, marquis of Rock- 
ingham, a worthy young nobleman, by which marriage, the Bright's estate of Bads- 
worth, went into the Wentworth family) and is now the property of earl Fitzwilliam. 

This John died the 13th Oct. 1735, and his widow married, August, 1748, sir John 
Ramsden of Byram, bart. She was heir to the Lowther'^^estate, at Ackworth Park. 

The following account of the funeral of colonel sir John Bright, from the above 
Thomas Dixon's cominon place book, (an alderman of Leeds,) is curious. 

• Sir John Bright, of Badsworth, bart. having languished a year and a half, of the 
stone, died on Thursday, the 13th Sept. 1688, soon after, about noon, Mr. Chambers, of 
Ripon, took two stones out of his bladder, which weighed near four ounces ; he was 
buried on Friday, the 21st, following, aged near seventy. He married four wives, and 
yet left but one daughter, married to Henry Lyddall, esq, eldest son of sir Thomas 
Lyddall, Bishoprick, bart. who had six children living at his death, the second of which 
John Lyddall, he made his heir, but he is to change his name from Lyddall to Bright, 
he was chief mourner at the funeraL — The twelve knights, baronets, and gentlemer*. 
that bare up the pall had mourning hatbands, shammy gloves, black scarfs and rings ; 
and many others had scarfs and gloves, and all the others had gloves. The ladies and 
gentlemen, had rings and two pair of gloves, and those that had not rings had gloves^ 
There were buiscuit cakes, cold meat, and wine of all sorts. He lay in state in a dark 
room, with twelve wax candles burning, the room hanged with black cloth and escut- 

KK 



258 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

infwmed them, ' that he had authority to engage, that none of those 
gentlemen, named to treat for the capitulation, were of the number of 
excepted persons.' Some of them then said, perhaps the governor 
was one ? Gol. Bright evaded giving a direct answer, and said, * that he 
did believe the general did not so much look upon the governor, as 
some others' who had delivered up the castle to them when it was taken." 
On this they parted, without concluding any thing. 

On their return to the castle, the commissioners for the garrisoa 
acquainted Morrice v/ith all that had passed. Some told him that col". 
Bright had engaged, that be should not be one of the excepted persons. 
When Morrice asked Paulden, (who was one of the commissioners) what 
he thought of it, Paulden told him, that it was his opinion he would be 
excepted ; and repeating the expressions of col. Bright, observed, that 
his opinion was grounded on the circumstance, that the colonel had not 
engaged that the governor should not be one, as he had, respecting those 
who were employed to treat. Another of the commissioners replied, 
that lieut. col. Crooke had assured him, that the governor was one of 
the excepted persons. On this, col. Morrrice said, 'that if he should 
be one of the excepted persons, be would take his chance ; — that he 
could not endure the thought, that so many brave gentlemen should 
perish for his sake.' He then oi-4ered the commissioners to return, 
and conclude the treaty. 

Gapt. Paulden requested that some other person might be sent in 
his place, as he had solemnly resolved never to consent to deliver up- 
the governor. They therefore departed to meet Lambert's commissi^ 
oners, and having speedily concluded and signed the articles of capitu- 
lation, brought back with them, the names of the six persons, who were 
excepted from mercy, which were col. Mofi^ice ; lieut. Allen Austvvick 
and cornet Blackburn, the two persons concerned in the death of 
Rainsborough ; major Ashby, ensign Smith and seijeant Floyd, the 
three persons who had been Morrice's confederates in the castle. 

The troops in the garrison were sensibly affected, when they heard 
the names of those excepted. They sent again the commissioners to 

cheons round it, and six mourners stood by the corps, and his arms, in mourning, was 
set on the outside, on the top of the hall. Sir John Kaye was executor, and he and his 
family were in mourning, as well as his own family. Mr Hunter preached for him,. 
Mat. X. 28, the pulpit and round the church, and three pews, were hung in mourning j 
the minister gave him a great character, for indeed he had managed his domestic affairs 
for fifty years with great prudence, by which he had augmented his estate. He wa» 
two years together high sheriff, when no liberties were allowed. He had a colonel's 
pay in ths army several years, was governor of Sheffield castle, and justice of the peace. 
He left a legacy of forty pounds to my wife, thirty pounds to my son Bright Dixon, and 
ten pounds to my daughter Ruth, which was paid a fortnight after the burial. If my 
brother Bright had outlived him, it had certainly been much better for my wife and 
children than it was, for sir John told me that the ancient estate was settled in our 
family, tut my brother Bright dying before him, his daughter Lj-ddall had that given, 
her by her father's will, which should have corae to my brother, and then to my wife 
and cliildren, but God's will be done.' 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 25^ 

Lambert, and requested that he would allow them six daj-^s, in which 
time the unfortunate victims might do their best endeavours to escape, 
and that it should be lawful for the garrison to assist th^m. 

To this proposal general Lambert consented, * so that the rest 
would surrender at the expiration of the time, and engage never again 
to advise or take up arms against the, parliament,' to which the com- 
sioners agreed. 

On the first day after this agreement, the garrison appeared twice 
or thrice as if they were resolved to make a sally, but retired eveiy 
time without charging. 

On the second day, they made a strong and vigorous sally in a 
diiferent direction, and drove the enemy from their post with the loss 
of several men. Although the attempt was made at the time the 
guards were relieving, and when the number of men was doubled, yet 
such was the resolution with which the charge was made, that coionei 
Morrice and cornet Blackburn, two of the excepted persons, pushed 
through the troops of the enemy and made their escape*. The other 

* About a fortnight after the surrender of the castle, being in the month of April, 
1649, colonel Morrice, late governor of Pontefract castle, and lieutenant Blackburn, 
who had a hand in the death of general Rainsborough, were taken at Lancaster in dis- 
guise, as they were inquiring for a ship, with an intention to get abroad. Theywere 
put in safe custody, and conveyed to York castle, where at the next assizes, it was 
intended to try them. 

They made an attempt once more to obtain their liberty and effect their escape 
from the hands of their enemies. Colonel Morrice had succeeded, by means of a rope, 
in sliding down the castle wall, but Blackburn, in trying the same method, had the 
misfortune to fall and break his leg. The generous colonel would not desert his friendj, 
but remained with him till they were both retaken. 

After six months incarceration within the walls of a gloomy prison, they were 
arraigned before Baron Thorpe and Judge Puleston, at York, at the ensuing assizes, for 
levying war against the king,dom. Had they been tried by martial law, the conduct of 
the government might have been justified. As they had been excepted from mercy, 
when the garrison capitulated, if tried on this ground, there would at least have been 
anore appearance of justice in their condemnation and execution. 

On their trial, they made a stout defence on points of law, excepted to the jury, 
and pleaded the statute of Henry VII. which justifies every man, that takes up arms in 
defence of the king. Their exceptions against the jury were not admitted, nor did 
Judge Puleston admit their construction of the above mentioned act. After a tedious 
trial, they were both found guilty, and sentence of death was passed upon them. Oji 
the 23d of August, 1649, the day of their execution arrived, the following account of 
which is taken from a work, entitled ' England's Black Tribunal,' first published in 
the year 1659 :— 

'When Morrice was brought oiit of prison, looking upon the sledge that was 
there set for him, lifting up his eyes to heaven, knocking upon his breast, he 
said I am as willing to go to my death, as to put off my doublet to go to bed, I despise 
the shame as well as the cross, I know I am going to a joyful place : with many like 
expressions. 

When the post met him jibout St. James's church that was sent to the parliament 
to mediate for a reprieve ; and told him he could not prevail in it, he said, sir, I pray 
God reward you for your pains, I hope and am well assured to find a better pardon than 
any they can give, my hope is not in man, but in the living God. 

At the place of execution, he made this profession of his faith, his breeding, his 
cause he had fought in. 

Gentlemen, first I was bred up in the true Protestant Religion, having my educa- 
tion and breeding from that honoured house my dear lord and master the Earl of Straf- 
ford, which place I dare boldly say, was as well governed and ruled as ever any yet 
was before it, I much doubt, better than any will be after it ; unless it please God to put 
a period to these distracted times ; this faith and religion, I say I have been bred in, 
and I thank God I have hitherto lived in, without the least wavering, and now I am 
resolved by God's assistance to die in. 

Those pains are nothing, if compared to those dolours and pains which Jesus 
Christ our Saviour hath suffered for us j when in'a bloody sweat he endured the wrath of 
God, the pain of hell, and the cursed and shameful death which was due to our sins j 



260 



HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT. 



four were compelled to retreat with their friends to the castle ; 
and the garrison now remained still for two whole days. Early 

therefore I praise the Lord that I am not plagued with far more grievous punishment, 
that the hke hath befallen others, who undoubtedly are most glorious and blessed 
Saints with Christ in heaven : it is the Lord's affliction, and who will not take any 
affliction in good part when it comes from the hand of God ? and what ? shall we re- 
ceive good from the hand of God, and not receive evil ? And though 1 desire, as I am 
carnal, that this cup may depart from me, yet not my will, but thy will be done. Death 
brings unto the godly an end of sinning, and of miseries due unto sin, so that after 
death there shall be no more sorrow, nor cry, nor pain, for God shall wipe away all tears 
from our eyes : by death our souls shall be delivered from thraldom, and this corruptible 
body shall put on incorruption, and this mortal immortality. 

Therefore blessed are they that are delivered out of so vile a world, and freed 
from such a body of bondage and corruption ; the soul shall enjoy immediate commu- 
nion with God in everlasting bliss and glory, it takes us from the miseries of this world 
and society of sinners, to the city of the living God, the celestial Jerusalem. 

J . J,^^^^® ^'^^ I ^"^ thought worthy to suffer for his name, and for so good a cause ; 
and if I had a thousand lives, I would willingly lay them down for the cause of my king, 
the Lord's Anointed : the Scripture commands us to fear God and honour the king, to 
be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as 
supream, or to those that are in authority under him : I have been always faithful to 
my trust ; and though I have been most basely accused for betraying Leverpool, yet I 
take God to witness it is a most false aspersion, for I was then sick in my bed, and 
knew not of the delivering of it till the officers and soldiers had done it without my 
consent, and then I was carried prisoner to Sir John Meldrum ; afterwards I came 
down into the country, and seeing I could not live quietly at home, I was perswaded 
bjr Colonel Forbes, Colonel Overton, Lieut. Colonel Fairfax, whom I took for my good 
friends, to march in their troops : which I did, but with intention still to do my king 
the best service when occasion was, and so T did ; and I pray God to turn the hearts of 
all the soldiers to their lawful soveraign, that this land may enjoy peace, which till 
then it will never do : and though thou kill me, yet will I put my trust in thee ; where- 
fore I trust in God he will not fail me nor forsake me. Then he took his Bible, and 
read divers Psalms fit for his own occasion and consolation, and then put up divers 
prayers^ some publickly, and some privately, the public was this which follows :— 

HIS PRAYER. 

WELCOM blessed hour, the period of my Pilgrimage, the term of my Bondage, 
the end of my cares, the close of my sins, the bound of my travels, the goal of my race, 
and the haven of my hopes ; I have fought a long fight in much weakness, I have fin- 
ished my course, though in great fainlness, and the crown of my joy is, that through 
the strength of thy grace, I havfi both kept the true faith, and have fought for my king, 
the Lord's Anointed^s cause without any wavering, for which, and in which I die ; I do 
willingly resign my flesh, I despise the world, and I defie the Devil, who hath no part 
nor share in me ; and now what is my hope ? my hope Lord Jesu is even in thee, for 1 
know that thou my Redeemer livest, and that thou wilt immediately receive my soul, 
and raise up my body also at the last day, and I shall see thee in my flesh with these 
eyes, and none other : And now, O Lord, let thy spirit of comfort help mine infirmities, 
and make supplication for me with sighs and groans that cannot be expressed ; I sub- 
mit myself wholly to thy will, I commit my soul to thee as my faithful Redeemer, who 
hast bought it with thy most precious blood. I confess to all the world, 1 know no 
name under heaven by which I may be saved, but thine my Jesu, my Saviour, I re- 
nounce all confidence in any merits save thine. I thankfully acknowledge all thy 
blessings, I unfeignedly bewail all my sins, I steadfastly believe all thy promises, I 
heartily forgive all my enemies, I willingly leave all my friends, I utterly loath all 
earthly comforts, and I entirely long for thy coming. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. 
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 

The private were to himself, his hat being before his eyes ; after this he put up 
divers short ejaculations: As, I know my Redeemer liveth. Father into thy hands I 
commend mjr spirit, for thou hast redeemed it, O God, thou God of truth. Lord Jesus 
receive my spirit, and many the like, and so he yielded to death. 

The Speech of Cornet Michael Blackburn, immediately before his death, August 
23, 1649. Executed the same day at York. | 

' It is expected I should say something, and indeed it is my desire to say some- 
thing and but a little. 

I am not a Gentleman by birth, but my Parents are of an honest quality and con- 
dition. I was brought up in the Protestant Religion, and in that religion I have lived, 
in that I now die. I have some five or six years since engaged in this war, wherein 
I had no other end or intention but to do my king true and faithful service, according 
to my duty and the dictate of my conscience ; I have not done so much service as I 
desired, but I have been always faithful to him, and wish I could have done him more; 
and for his son the king tha't now is, I wonder any man of this kingdom should have 
the boldness or impudence to lift up his hand against him, to keep him from his crown 
wherof he is heir apparent, and hath as good a right and title to it by his birth-right, as 
any man living hath of his inheritance or possession ; I pray Gud bless him, forgive all 
jny enemies, and Lord Jesus receive my spirit,' 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 261 

on the night of the fourth day they made another attempt, which 
proved wholly unsuccessful. They were driven back to the castle, 
having ensign Smith, another of the excepted persons, killed. His 
friends conveyed his body into the castle, and he was interred in the 
chapel of St. Clement. 

The three excepted persons now remaining, considered it useless 
to make any more sallies to effect their escape. Several lives had 
already been lost in the attempts made ; and they contrived a differ- 
ent method in order, to secure themselves. The buildings of the castle 
were large and extensive, and owing to the sieges, some of these were 
now in ruins ; amongst them they found a sally port, where the 
three excepted persons might be concealed, and from whence they 
might easily make their escape. Accordingly their friends walled up 
the place after they had entered, leaving them apertures suflBcient for 
the admission of air, and furnishing them with provisions for a month, 
in which time, it was not doubted, but they would be able to make 
their escape. 

The next morning (24th March, 1649 ) the garrison pretended to 
rejoice, and sent the governor word, that as their six friends were 
gone, (although two yet remained,) they should be ready to sur- 
render on the following day. At the appointed hour, the garrison 
marched out of the castle. Lambert narrowly inspected each indivi- 
dual, not believing that any of the six excepted persons had escaped; 
but being satisfied, that they were not among those who now surren- 
dered, he treated them with great civility, and punctually performed all 
his promises ; nor did he seem displeased * that the brave soldiers had 
happily escaped.' He did not pay much attention to the castle, 
so that the three expected persons, the night afterwards threw down 
their inclosure, and securely decamped*. 

The parliamentarians on their taking possession of the castle, 
found provisions for two months, and 40 barrels of powder. General 
Lambert then dismantled it from being any more a garrison, and 
left standing, the stupendous remains in a forlorn condition, as in- 
troductory to its approaching dissolution. 

A letter was sent from Knottingley, dated March 22nd, with the 
articles of agreement for the rendition of Pontefract castle, which 
being read were approved of by the house : also, at the same time was 
read the petition from the aldermen and well affected inhabitants of 
the town of Pontefract for the like demolition of the said fortress ; 
after which, it was resolved, ' that the castle of Pontefract should be 
totally and forthwith demolished : that it be referred to a committee of 

* Austwick am! Floyd lived till after the restoration. 



262 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

the West-riding of the county of York, to see it levelled with the ground 
and rendered untenable. The sale of the materials of which, to go 
first to the charges of demolishing it ; and, the value of 1000/ of the 
remainder, to be alloted for the town of Pontefract, towards the re- 
pairing of the place of public worship and the re-edifying'an habitation 
for the minister. 

On the receipt of these letters, the house immediately ordered and 
resolved : * th^t 300Z per annum clear rent, out of the demesne of the 
honor of Pontefract, be settled upon major general Lambert and his 
heirs for ever, in respect for the many great and eminent services done 
by him in the northern parts, as well as against the Scotch army last 
summer, as against the forces of sii' Marmaduke Langdale and others, 
in reducing the castle of Pontefract, being the last garrison in JEng' 
land that held out against the parliament, and in respect of his extra- 
ordinary charge therein, he not being allowed any pay as Major 
General. Ordered, that this vote be sent with a letter of thanks and 
respect, from the house, and that Mr. Chaloner prepare it.' 

Thus fell the noble princely fortress of Pontefract, which had 
successively been the strong hold of the hardy Saxons, — the residence 
of the brave and warlike Lascies, — the turretted palace of the aspiring 
earls and dukes of Lancaster, — the scene of many a bloody deed, and 
the last resource of vanquished royalty. 

* Departed grandeur ! could the stones assume 

Historic power to tell thy pristine fame. 
The torch of truth should thy dark reign illume. 
And bright description kindle into flame.'— 

* Then each mute witness, hsisting to decay, 

Might tell what scenes were whilom here display'd ; 
What ancient dames here sung th' heroic lay, 
Mov'd in the dance, or nightly masquerade.' — 

« What titled warriors grac'd the splendid ball. 

In all the pride of chivalry and show ; 
What trophies hung within the sounding hall. 

The blood stained spoil of some illustrious foe.' — 

* What rich possessors fed the neighbouring poor j 
What tournaments they fought, and how they fell ; 

These, with numerous tales and deeds of yore. 
The moss-grown relics of the pile might tell.' — 

The approach to this noble structure, now much decayed, and in 
a totally ruinous condition, is peculiarly striking and impressive, and 
powerfully recalls the memory of times when 
• Princes sat where nettles grow.' 

A great portion of the keep, preserved by the clustering ivy, whose 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 263 

fibres seem to have crept around it with solicitous care, rises majesti- 
cally alone, and seems yet to dare the slow yet sure and rude desolat- 
ing hand of time. 

Fragments of massive walls, and broken arches clothed with 
moss, are promiscuously interspersed amongst the towering ashes 
and spreading briars ; and the thistle now rears its head, where once 
the mailed foot of chivalry resounded. On the opposite side of the 
road stand the remains of the venerable church of All Saints, with its 
beautiful tower fast mouldering into decay. The brambles which 
partly cover the fallen fragments of the castle, prevent intrusion ; but 
for what purpose can the prying eye of curiosity employ itself in 
minutely examining these chaotic remains of faded greatness ? The 
scattered ruins convey but an imperfect idea of the plan and distribu- 
tion of the buildings, in its pristine grandeur j and busy conjecture 
employs herself in vain. 

The eye, lost in amazement, wanders over the mighty fabric j 
whilst invention feels incapable of tracing its former magnificence, in 
its crumbling desolate state. The attention of the traveller is power- 
fully arrested, and his imagination soars away from these nodding 
ruins to days gone by, when the fierce conflicts of rival princes, or of 
feudal chieftains, levelled alike the noble fortress and the hallowed 
fane. 

In surveying these ruins, there is observable, the remains of a 
small arched chamber, situated northwards of the keep, (Vide No. I. 
and letter 1 on the ground plan.) where tradition asserts, that the un- 
fortunate monarch Richard II. met his untimely fate ; on viewing 
which, the traveller is received with the horrid tale of murdered 
royalty, and the piteous welcome of ' Behold yon darksome tower> 
come you to bear witness of our sad memento, to vent with us the 
unavailing curse, on those who have stained our ground with princely 
blood.'* Near to this tower, is a subterraneous place (m) of immense 
depth, having its sides lined with stone, and containing a very high 
arch, formed on the side next unto the steps. 

On entering the mound or keep, there is a steep flight of steps, (b} 
ascending to the top ; on gaining which, the remains of a great stair- 
case (d) appear on the right, which probably communicated to the 
state appartments above, which were very large, and accommodated 
with offices, suitable for the residence of a prince. A small square 
room (e) lighted only by one outlet of a diminutive size, is situated a 
little further to the westward in one of the towers. This room was 
very probably designed for the captain of the guard, as Leland notes it 

* Gcntloman'^s Magazine, No, 95, p. 221» 



264 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

to have been here ; and the tower beneath it is a solid mass, which is 
a corroboration of the strength of this fabric, as well as of the safe- 
guard of the mound. A very singular and irregular winding flight of 
steps crumbling fast into ruins, extends from a small sallyport, (hj 
to the doorway leading into the mound. The passage is about 
eight feet wide, and when you have ascended about fourteen steps, a 
branch of nine steps is perceivable to the right ; whilst another of 
about twelve steps turns leftward, and ends in a square place, similar 
to a well, C§J and a dismal dungeon. Ci) Through the mouldering 
fortification, which runs from the mound northwards, is a loop or 
chink (c) of not less than eighteen feet in thickness. In one side of the 
keep, is formed a dismal square cavity, (k) about fifteen feet deep, and 
five or six feet square ; and to this place no outward door seems ever 
to have had any communication. It has not the appearance of a stair- 
case, nor is it possible that it can ever have been used for any other 
purpose, than rigorous and severe confinement. It answers to the 
description, given by Sallust of the Roman TuUianum,* and must 
have been, previously to the demolition of the upper part of the castle, 
a very dismal place. 

In the magazine which is situated near the barbican, are cut 
innumerable initials ; and on the sides of the passages leading to it, 
amongst many other names are the following : — 

ROG James 16 GEO 48 1648 JOHN 1648 

PREST Provstonl648 BEALE JOHN GRANT SMITH 

164 J. G.R. E. S, 

The breast of the antiquarian may heave with sorrow, when he 
beholds such stupendous fabrics, which had braved the cnish of thunder 
and the warring winds, levelled with the plain by mortal power, and 
simk in silence ; yet, when he reflects that they rose the pride of 
tumultuous chieftains, and the receptacles for licenced robbers, who 
gave to their rapine, the title of attachment to pai'ty, — when he consi- 
ders, that they were the causes of general disorder, neglecting of 
tillage, destruction of implements of husbandry, and the prime spring 
of terrible famines, which at once oppress the victor and the vanquished 
— ^he will then rejoice to know that these are fleeting dreams, and that 
he lives at a period when equal rights and liberties are in the possession 
of the peasant as well as the prince. 



* Est in carcere loai?, quod TuUianum appellatur, tibi paululuin ascenderis ad 
laevam circiier xiv pedes hiimi depressus. Eum muniunt undique parietes atque insuper 
Camera lapideis fornicibus viiicta : sed incultu tenebrjs, odore fseda atque terrJbiUs 
ejus facies.— Sail. Bellum, Catilinanum, 38. 



i 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Right sung the bard, that all-involving age, 
With hand impartial, deals the ruthless blow; 

That war, wide-wasting, with impetuous rage,- 
Lays the tall spire, and sky-crowned turret low, 

A pile stupendous, once of fair renown, 
This mouldering mass of shapeless ruin rose. 

Where nodding heights of fractured colunans frown. 
And birds obscene in ivy bowers repose : 

Oft the pale matron from the the threatening wall. 
Suspicious, bids her heedless children fly ; 

Oft, as he views the meditated fall, 
Full swiftly steps the frighted peasant by= 

But more respectful views th' historic sage. 

Musing, these awful relics of decay, 
That once a refuge formed from hostile rage. 

In Henry's and in Edward's dubious day. 

He pensive oft reviews the mighty dead. 
That erst have trod this desolated ground j 

Reflects how here unhappy Salisbury bled. 
When faction aimed the death-dispensing woun4. 

Rest, gentle Rivers ! and ill-fated Gray ! 

A flower or tear oft strews yoixr humble grave» 
Whom Envy slew, to pave Ambition's way. 

And whom a monarch wept in vain to save. 

Ah ! what avail'd th' alliance of a throne ? 

The pomp of titles what, or power revered ? 
Happier ! to these the humble life unknown. 

With virtue honoured and by peace endeared. 

Had thus the sons of bleeding Britain thought. 
When hapless here inglorious Richard lay. 

Yet many a prince, whose blood full dearly bought 
The shameful triumph of the long-sought day j 

Yet many a hero, whose defeated hand 

In death resigned the well-contested field. 
Had in his off-spring saved a sinking land. 

The Tyrant's terror, and the Nation's shield. 
JU could the muse indignant grief forbear. 

Should Memory trace her bleeding Country's woes j 
111 could she count, without a bursting teai-f 

Th' inglorious triumphs of the varied Rose 1 

While York, with conquest and revenge elate. 
Insulting, triumphs on St Alban's plain. 

Who views, nor pities Henry's hapless fate. 
Himself a captive, and his leaders slain ? 

Ah prince ! unequal to the toils of war. 
To stem ambition. Faction's rage to quellj 

Happier I from these had fortune placed thee far, 
:jn soBne lone convent, or some peaceful celL 

LL 



265 



2m 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



Fer what availed that tUy victorious queen 
Repaired the ruins of that dreadful day .' 

That vanquished York, on Wakefield's purple green^ 
Frostrate amidst the common slaughter lay ? 

In vain fair Victory beamed the gladdening eye. 
And, waving oft her golden pinions, smiled ; 

F4.1II soon the flattering goddess meant to fly, 
Full rightly deemed unsteady fortune's child. 

Let Towton's field— but cease the dismal tale : 
For much its horrors would the Muse appal. 

In softer strains suffice it to bewail 
The Patriot's exile, or the Hero's fall. 

Thus silver Wharf,* whose crystal sparkling urn 
Reflects the brilliance of his blooming shore. 

Still, melancholy-mazing, seems to mourn. 
But rolls, confused, a crimson wave no more. 

Written among the ruins qf Pontefract Castle, by Dr. Langhorn, 1756^ 



* The writer is evidently incorrect, in referring to the Wharf. The battle was 
fought at too great a distance from that river, for it to be tinged with the blood of the 
slain. It was the Cock, anciently called Cockar, a small river which flowed near 
the scene of action. 

' The Cockar, or Cock, runs from Abberford to the Wharf, as if mourning for de- 
testation of the civil wars, ever since it run with English blood. For on its bank, 
aear the country village of Towton was strictly our Fharsalia,'— Gough's Cam, Brit, 




^^-^ 




fllSTORY OF rONTEFRACT, 267 



PART THE THIRD 



OF THE CHURCH OF ALL SAINTS. 

This noble edifice, dedicated to All-Saints, was anciently styled the 
' Minster of the Moors.' It was a vicarage, and the perpetual advow- 
son was in the gift of the lord Chancellor. It is situated a little east- 
ward of the castle of Pontefract, and formerly the better part of the 
town was near it ; but since the progression of rolling ages, and the 
church's much to be lamented decay, new habitations have been 
erected upon the hill, near the building called St. Giles', or the new 
church, which is without either monuments or church yard, and is 
indeed a very inferior building, if compared even to the roofless shell 
of All Saints. 

The style of its architecture was of the Gothic order, and it was 
built in a Catholical way, resembling a cross ; and although no record 
has yet been found, to elucidate clearly the name of its founder, yet it 
is probable, that it has not stood longer than from the days of Henry 
I. J as the Domesday Book Survey notices only a church in Tanshelf, 
and not one in Pontefract.* 

Robert de Lascy, generally styled Robert de Pontefract, who was 
a great benefactor to it, is reported to be its noble founder.f He 
granted it to the prior and monks of St. John the Evangelist of Ponte- 
fract ; and thus it became appropriated to this monastery. 

Its extent from east to west is fifty- three yards, and from north to 
south, twenty-seven yards ; and it is enclosed by a stone wall, which 
bounds the burial ground in the figure or form of a coffin. 

' It hath a double chancel, but no outward d*oor ; a cross ile west 
of this, dividing the body from the chancel, which projects several 
yards beyond the body, which hath three iles.'t The roof of these side 
iles were much lower than that of the nave, and formed a kind of pent- 
house, similar to our old parish churches. On the corbels, from 
which spring the arches of the window, are carved the heads of 

* Domesday Book, 135. 

t Miller's History of Doncasler.—Mon, Aug, 649.— Torre's MSS,35, 

t Mag. Brit., vi. 356, 



268 



HISTORY OP PONTEFRACT. 



warriors, abbotts, lions, and other devices. From the arches of the 
columns which formed the iles, a wall extended upwards, and con- 
tained a range of windows, for the purpose of giving light to the 
nave j round which ran a parapet wall, so that any person might 
walk in safety along the roof. * In the cross ile, at the south and 
north ends, were two large doors over-against one another, in the 
middle of which rose a noble gallant square, Cformerly the belfry,) 
erected several yards above the roof of the church, where now hangeth 
only a gallant sweet bell.'* Round the top of this bell are cast a number 
of arms, &c. and the following inscriptions in old English characters : — 
^a Hgec est tub, dei. J. N. E. nomen ei. 
Heec Campana Beata Sacra Trinitati Fiat %^ ^« 

Ano W>^ Do ^e M i^f D ^^ LXXXX ^ VIH %i N ^^ D ^if 
In this square once hung twelve bells. Each corner was enriched 
with the sculptured figures of the four Evangelists, and from its centre 
a'ose a curious and magnificent lantern * whose finances of the several 
angles were adorned with images of the Apostles.' During the siege 
of the fortress of Pontefract, the interior and roof were much damaged, 
as well as the lantern, which suffered so great injury from Cromwell's 
cannon, * that it was blown down by a raging tempest some short 
time afterwards.' The parliament of 1649, allotted 1000/. out of the 
monies arising from the sale of the materials of the castle, towards the 
repairing of it, and accordingly tlie north transept was re-edified ; 
and in the place of the lantern was built an octagon, adorned at each 
side with ornamental spires, but * was much inferior to the lantern.'t 
In the north west corner of the square towex', still standing, is a singu- 
lar and rare case inclosing two pairs of stairs, both of which wind 
round the same centre, and terminate in the same circumference, 
having their different entrances below, and their several landings 
above. 

On the north and south sides, towards the western end of the 
church, are two other large doors, opposing each other : so that for 
number of doors in the nave, and none in the chancel : for that noble 
part of the tower, which still remains : for the long-extended cross 
ile, and unusual double staircase, and in the richness of its decorations 
and ornaments, it surpassed most of the parish churches of its day. 

* Mr. Fothergill's Letter to the author of the Magna Britannia, dated 30th Deer. 
1710. 

(a) A cross moline charged with hearts — (b) a rose — c a cross moline with hearts— 
(d) a melon surmounted by a crown — (e) arms, arg-. a Fitchee, a Chevron, surmounted by 
an annulet surtout, charged with a crown surmounting R on the dexter chief, and a bell 
on the sinister chief — {f) a rose surmounted by a crown — (g) a lion passant — (h) a crown 
mounting an embattled gate with chains hanging from each side — (J) arms, arg, a 
Fourchee, charged with coronets— (k) across mohne, charged with hearts — (l)thesealof 
Pontefract (a castle) surmounted by a royal crown. 

t This is the trumpet of God, Jesus of Nazareth is its name. May this blessed bell 
is &acred to the Trinity.— Anno Dom.ini, 15C*8. j Mag. Brit. ^-i. 396. 



HISTORY OF PONTKPRACT. 269 

The eastern and western ends were adorned by beautifully 
Illuminated windows of the Gothic style of architecture, of very large 
dimensions, and formed of extremely slender muUions. The cross ile 
and chancel seem to have been only appropriated for divine sei-vice, 
and the whole western end, with its beautifully pointed arches, formed 
a noble entrance to it, resembling in some measure the cathedrals of 
the present day.* 

About year 1707, when St. Giles' church was destitute of a bell, 
the parishioners were desirous of removing the one from All Saints ; 
but the vicar, who appears to have been partial to the venerable pile, 
though crumbling into ruins, summoned the parishioners to determine 
on the subject, and the inhabitants of Knottingley, (who at this time 
belonged to the parishj flocked in great numbers, and the meeting 
unanimously decided that the bell should remain. What became of 
the other eleven bells which were taken away previously to this period, 
is uncertain. There was a tradition, that colonel Bright, an officer who 
distinguished himself by his bravery in Lambert's army, during the 
civil broils of Charles, and who was deputed to treat concerning the 
surrender of the castle of Pontefract, obtained them for his own parish 
at Badsworth ; but on inspection it appears, that only one could have 
belonged to this church, unless they have been re-cast, as all bear 
dates posterior to the restoration, except one, dated 1582. 

After the restoration, a brief was granted, and a subscription 
raised amongst the parishioners amounting to 1500/. for the further 
repairs of the church. Unfortunately, however, for the parishioners. 
Dr. N. Johnson, a man whose name as an antiquarian deserves respect, 
but whose conduct in this affair merits general reproach, had the money 
entrusted to him,t and he * partly converted it to the use of other 
secular buildings, and partly made off in a sacrilegious manner, 
that he might not be rendered accountable for his unjust stewardship.' 
Since that period the parishioners have been unable to contribute 
further towards its preservation ; and it has consequently become the 
merciless prey to the ravages of time. 

An intelligent Roman Catholic gentlemen, orr viewing the remains 
of this venerable fabric, immediately pointed out the south east part, 
as having been, what is styled in churches abroad, the crypt.J This 
part evidently appears to have been lower than the chancel and the 

* Johnson's MSS. 

t The contract deed of the repairs between the workmen on one part and Dr. N. 
Johnson on the other, is in the possession of the Rev. Dr. Boothroyd. — Boothroyd's 
Pontefract. 

t The crypt was a kind of a church underground, where important ceremonies were 
performed, and was devised to render the passion of our Saviour more striking and 
impressive. 



270 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

cross iles, and was separated from the chancel and high altar by a range 
of columns. In this part also was a small altar v/ith fine sculptm-ed 
figures over it in a devotional attitude ; and although nothing now re- 
mains but a mutilated specimen, yet it does so great honour to 
the sculptor, as to excite regret that the misguided zeal of the re- 
formers should have destroyed one of the best proofs of the state of 
the fine arts. 

Annexed to the church of All Saints, were five chantries, viz. 
viz : 1. — ^The chantry of St. Thomas the Apostle, in the parish church 
of All Saints, founded by Robert Rish worth, of the annual value of 
4Z. 145. 8d. 2. — The chantry of Corpus Christi, of the annual value of 
3/. 7s. 8d. 3. — The chantiy of our Lady, in the same church, of the 
annual value of 6Z. 1 5. 6<Z. 4. — The chantry of St. Roke, in the same 
church of the annual value of 61. I6s. 3d. 5. — The chantry of our 
Lady, in the chapel of St. Giles, of the value of 71. 6s. Sd. 

In our researches relative to the creation and endowment of the 
vicarage, very little information has yet been found. In Torre's 
manuscripts, (p. 35,) it is thus noted : ' Pontefract church of All 
Hallows or All Saints, in the Archdeaconry of York, and the West- 
Riding. On the 20th of November, A.D. 1361, in the reign of king 
Edward the Third : John archbishop of York ordained that the prior 
and convent of Pontefract and successors, should for ever enth'ely 
receive all and singular the fruits, rents, profits, tythes, oblations, 
and emoluments of this church of All Saints ; and pay to M. Adam de 
Scargill, thh-ty marks per annum, quarterly, in the same church, in 
the name of the whole and entire portion of his vicarage. And shall 
bear all burdens, ordinaiy and extraordinary, incumbent on the same, 
excepting synodals only, which the vicar shall pay for the time being.' 

At the time it was so appropriated to the priory, it is very proba- 
ble that it was endowed, but perhaps the instrument of ordination 
might be destroyed during the reformation ; and all other notes of 
information which can be collected furnish, but a very imperfect and 
unsatisfactory account of it. The augmentation office at York, hath 
ijeen searched, as well as other surveys and documents, and all without 
success. 

Whether the monks of the priory became negligent in their duties, 
or whether it might be deemed more proper to have one of the secular 
clergy to discharge the spiritual functions, is uncertain ; but we find 
that on the 15th August, AD, 1452, in the reign of Henry VI. a new 
ordination of the vicarage was made by the archbishop. * 

' That John White, then vicar, and his successors, should have for 
their habitation; one house, situate nigh the said church, called vul- 



HISTORY OF FONTEFRACT. 2/1 

garly Bailey place, with the garden to the same adjoining. And 
that the prior and convent of Pontefract, should receive all the fruits, 
profits, and tithes thereof, and pay to the said vicar and his successors, 
twenty marks in English money, per annum, quarterly, in the said 
church of All Saints. And, bear all burdens, ordinary and extraordin- 
ary whatsoever, incumbent on the said church.' 

In the latter part of the month of December, A.D. 1533, an agree- 
ment was made, between the mayor and commonality on the one side, 
and the prior and convent, rector or appropriator of the parish church 
of All Saints on the other, respecting the finding and sustaining cer- 
tain chaplains within the church of All Saints, who should celebrate 
sacraments and sacramentals to the parishioners ; the archbishop 
ordaining, that there should be within this parish church of All Saints, 
two chaplains perpetually, found and sustained by the said prior and 
convent. One of which shall celebrate in the chapel of St. Giles, at 
the costs and expenses of the said prior, &c. and the other should 
celebrate and administer the sacraments and sacramentals in the said 
church of All Saints. 

In the 6th Henry VII. a triparti deed was drawn between the vicar 
and mayor and the inhabitants, for the election of six wardens to be 
chosen annually, on St. Blaze day, before twelve o'clock, to look after 
the church plate, &c., dated 6th Henry VII. 1490. 

In the 26th year of the reign of Henry VIII. it is stated, that the 
vicarage of Pontefract alias Pomfret, with the chapel of St. Giles, in 
the Market-place, consisted only of a pension received from the prior 
of Pontefract, of 13/. 6s. Sd. 

It unfortunately happens that the amount referred to above, is not 
in the augmentation office ; otherwise from thence it would appear, 
what the particular tithes were, which composed the lay impropriation, 
and this inference would follow, that such tithes as were not specifically 
mentioned as belonging to the rector)'-, or to the deanery, must be 
deemed to belong to the vicar. And as this is the only information 
which can at present be obtained concerning the endowment to the 
vicar, it is presumed his claims must rest upon usage only. *^ 

It is presumed that when the priory was dissolved, to which all 
manner of tithes was appropriated, the fund from whence the pension 
or the twenty marks issued, would cease ; and therefore the vicarage 
of Pontefract, either at this period took new life, by a new endowment, 
which cannot be found ; or, that the vicar, as matter of course, took 
all such tithes as were left ungranted to lay impropriators.* 

* The'pvesent lay impropriator for the township of Pontefract, to which this case 
IS most confined, is Lord Harewood, who lias the tithes of corn and hay, and to whom 
is paid a modus per acre when land is depastured. 



272 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

The vicarage was thus valued in the king's books : * First Fruits, 
13/. 6s. 8rf. ; Tenths, II. 6s. 8d.; Procuration, 7s. 6d -^ and the real 
value estimated at 47 L' When the commission of enquiry into the 
true value of ecclesiastical benefices was executed, the vicarage was dis- 
chai'ged from the payments of the first fruits and tenths, and therefore 
it could not be above the value of 50/. per annum, although it is stated, 
in Bacon's Liber Regis, to be of the clear annual value of 90/. 

The earliest accounts which can be gathered concerning the rec- 
tory, are those found in the augmentation office rolls : 

' Rectoria de Pontefracto. Et de 32/, 14*. de firma totius rectoria 
de Pontefracto praedicto per annum solvend. ad divers, personarum 
prout in computis, hujus officii de duobus annis proxime precedendis 
plenasque particulariter apparat eum 13 pro certis decimis pertinenti- 
bus, Decanato decanatus domini regis infra castrum suum de Ponte- 
fracto.' After this follov/s a long decree concerning the deanery. 

At the dissolution of the priory of St. John the Evangelist, it was 
leased off to Peter Mewtas, Esq. at the annual rent of 22/. 14.s. and was 
afterwards worth 171/. 19*. beside some parts of it being sold to divers 
persons. 

In the 43d year of the reign of queen Elizabeth, a suit was insti- 
tuted in the court of Exchequer, concerning the reparation of the 
chancel of the church ; and by the proceedings it appeared, that the 
rectory composed a portion, of the regal revenue, and was under lease 
in seperate parcels to the following gentlemen : Baron Savile, Edward 
Talbot, esq.; Thomas Beverley, esq.; Thomas Riccard ; Robt. Frank; 
and William Stables. 

The whole of the rectory continued in the possession of the 
crown, until the commencement of the reign of James I. when the 
following portions were alienated : * The tithes of grain in Hardwick 
Roods, value 6s. 8d. and the tithes of grain in Pontefract, value 8/, 
granted to Lawrence Baskerville, John Styles, and Humphrey Bua- 
hel, in fee, by letters patent, dated the 29th of October, in the second 
year of the reign of James I.' 

The following abstract of leases of various parts of the rectory, 
now remaining in the augmentation office, will shew what tithes then 
formed the rectory. 

Year. Lease of Tithes. To whom granted. Jnnual Sum. 

1562. Tithes of Hay de Villa de Pontefracto, John Bathe, 1 18 8 

1667. — Grain, de Villa de Pontefracto, Francis Kenipe, 8 

1664. Grain in Hardwicke Roods, R. Etherington, 6 8 

1569. Hav and Grain de Ferrybridge, John Beverley, 5 13 4 

J578. Grain of Knottineley, . . . Rob. Arthington» 9 

1591. Hay of East Ings of 'ditto, . . J. Bellhoxise, 11 4 

6Eliz, Hay, Hemp, and Flax, the formerl p . ^ p , 9 

in east and latter two in west do./ "°'"-"^°°'"^' yo 

6 Eliz. Corn and Hay of South Hardwicke, Robert Cooke, 4 6 8 

1594. Corn and Hay of Spittle ditto, Wm. Stables, 2 10 



HISIORY OF I'ONTEFRACT. 



70 



A CATALOGUE OF THE VICARS OF ALL-SAINTS; 

Down to the Restoration, 



Temp. Irtstit. 



Tlcurii EccL 
Dns. Hugo do IJiiksbi'.rgh 



Patrom. 

Prior et Con. de 

Pontefracto, 

idem. 

idem , 

idem. 

idem. 

Rex, et caetera. 

idem. 



12(v Dns. Antonio de Beck, cl. 
16 Kal. Julii, 1302 Dns. Adam Pollit, Pbr. 

6 Kal. Aug. 1316 Dns. Nic. <le Erghes, Pbr. 

4 Kal. Maii, 1329 Dns. Will, de Sutton, cap. 
16 Kal Sept. 1338 Dns. Roger Paxton, cap. 

2 February, 1349 M. Adam de Scargill, 

16 March, 1349 Dns. W. de Sancto Albano, Rex Ed, III. 

24 January, IS-W Dns. Hugo de Saxton, cap. Rex, et ciEtera 
2 January, 1365 Dns. Jo. de Becks, cap. idem. 

Dns. Hugo de Saxton, 

17 November, 13C1 M. Adam de Scargill, offi- 

cialis Curia;, Ebor, 

25 Novemder,1361 Dns. Ric. Douks, 
15 April, 1364 Dns. Will. Danke, cap. 

Dns. John Thornton, 
Dns, Joh. Cudworth, Pbr. 
Dns. John White, 



5 May, 

23 February, 

20 July, 

3 August, 
15 Septr., 

24 March, 
7 June, 
3 June, 

7 March, 
12 February, 
26 November 

15 April, 

16 July, 
12 Deer. 
24 June, 

21 June, 

3 March, 



1437 
1438 
1465 
1433 
1483 
1485 
1486 
1489 
1490 
1503 
,1506 
15.32 
1568 
1588 
1595 
1697 
1624 



Rex, et caetera. 
idem, 
idem, 
idem, 
idem, 
idem. 



Sir Thomas Challoner, cap. Sir John Lekham 

Dns. Rich. Berryman, cap. Prior et Conv. 

Dns. Xtopher Bargh, cap. ' '' 

Dns. Joh. Stodfolde, cap. 

Dns. Tlios. Harryson, A.M 

Dns. Peter Beke, cap. 

M. Rob. Cutteler, 

M. Thos.Bromflete, A.M. 

M. Rob. Womersley, A.M. 

Dns. John Barker, Pbr, 

Rich. Asheton, Cl. 

Thomas Haman, Cl 



dem. 

idem. 

idem. 

idem. 

idem. 

idem. 

idem. 

idem. 
J. Boteman, &c. 
Elizabeth, Reg. 



Lawrence Barker, Cl. A.M. eadem. 

T. PuUeine, Cl. ob. 1627. eadem. 

Will. Styles, Cl. AB. Rex Jacob. 
Joseph Ferret. 



I'acat. 
p. mort. 



p. resig. 
idem, 
p. mort. 
p. resig. 
p. resig. 
idem. 

p. resig. 



p. resig. 

p. mort. 
p. resig. 
p. mort. 
p. mort. 
p. resig. 
p. mort. 
p. mort. 
p. mort. 
p. resig. 
p. mort. 
p. mort. 
p. mort. 
p. mort. 

p. resig. 
p. resig. 
p. resig. 

p. resig. 



P. ment. 



pro.Eccles. 
de Lyndon, 
pro. Eccles. 
Almondbury. 
pro Eccles. 
St. Wilf. Eboi. 
pro. Eccles. 

Almondbury. 
pro. Cant. 
Hesslewood^ 



pro. Vic. 
de Bray ton. 



TESTAMENTARY BURIALS. 

From Torre's MSS. 

Die Jovis prox post festum St. Nic. A.D. 1387. John de Gay ton 
of Pontefract, made his will (proved ) and gave his 

soul to God Almighty, St. Mary and All Saints, and his body to be 
buried within the church of All Saints, in Pontefract. 

Die Lunae prox post festum St. Petri ad vincula, A. D. 1390. 
Robert de Beghall, of Pontefract, made his v/ill, fproved 20th Feb. 
1390,; giving his soul to God Almighty, and his body to be buried 
in the church of All Saints, of Pontefract. 

Die Jovis in festo St. Mathsei, Aprili, 1391. Roger Silkston, of 
Pontefract, made his will, (proved 15th October, 1391,) giving his 
soul to God Almighty, St. Mary, and All Saints, and his body to be 
buried in the church of All Saints, in the town of Pontefract. 

Die Jovis ante festum St. Nic. Ep. A.D. 1427. William Carlell, 
of Pontefract, made his will, Cproved 24th June, 1427,) giving his 
soul, ut supra, and his body to buried in the parish church of All 
Saints, in Pontefract. 

7th December, A. D. 14.34. William Cawdray, physcian, made 
his will, (proved 15th February, 1434,) giving his soul, ut supra, 
and his body to be buried in parish church of All Saints, Ponte- 
fract. 

17th November, A. D. 1435. John Saxton, of Pontefract, made 

M M 



2/4 IlKsTOaV OF I'ONTEFUACT. 

Iiis will, fpiovt'il December 5, 1 135,) p:ivin£r his soul, lit supra, and 
ills body to be buried in the church of All Saints, Pontefract. 

2!)th April, A. D. 1438, John Thornton, vicar of Pontefract, 
made his will, (proved May r)th, 1438,) givinjr his soul, ut supra, 
and his body to be buried in the parish church of All Saints, in Ponte- 
fract. 

18th April, A. D. 1443 Fxobert INIethley, of Pontefract, fisher, 
Made his will, ^proved 8th Way, 1443, giving his soul, ut supra, 
and his body to be buried in the parish church of All Saints, in 
Pontefract. 

14th October, A. D. 1443. John Sharp, of Pontefract, made his 
will, (proved 10th December, 1443,) giving his soul to God Almighty 
St. Mary, and All Saints, and his body to be buried in the parish 
church of Pontefract. 

10th June, A. D. 1445. John Devyas, of Pontefract, made his 
will, (proved 19th June, 1445,) giving his soul to God Almighty, St. 
Mary, and All Saints, and his body to be buried in the church of All 
Saints, of Pontefract, before the image of St. John the Baptist. 

23d August, A. D. 1446. John Finney, of Pontefract, made his 
will, (proved 10th October, 144fi,) giving his soul, ut supra, and his 
body to be buried in the parish church of All Saints, of Pontefract. 

24th December, A. D. 1446. John Tomlynson, of Pontefract, 
made his will, Cproved 11th November, 1447,) giving his soul, ut 
supra, and his body to be buried in the parish church of All Saints 
of Pontefract. 

14th November, A. D. 1447. Johanna, wife of Thomas Moore, 
of Pontefract, made her will, Cproved 29th March, 1448,) giving her 
soul to God Almighty, and her body to be buried in the church of 
All-Hallows, of Pontefract. 

1st February, A. D. 1452. Richard More, of Pontefract, made 
his will, proved 8th March, 1452, giving his soul to God Almighty, 
St. Mary, and All Saints, and his body to be buried in the parish 
church of All Saints, of Pontefract, 

3d May, A. D. 1454. William Danby, of Pontefract, made his 
Mill, proved 7th August, 1454, giving his soul, ut supra, and his 
body to be buried in the parish church of All Saints, Pontefract. 

9th January, 1461. Robert Roper, of Pontefract, made his will, 
proved 14th January, 1461, giving his soul ut supra, and his body 
to be buried in the church of All Saints, of Pontefract. 

i?th June, A. D. 1462. John Medlay, of Pontefract, made his 
will, proved 14th August, 1462, giving his soul, ut supra, and his 
body to be buried in the church of Ail Saints, Pontefract. 

12th January, A. D. 1463. John Balne, of Pontefract, made his 
will, proved 8th May, 1464, giving his soul to God Almighty, 
St. Mary, and All Saints, and his body to be buried in the parish 
church of Pontefract. 

24th July, A. D. 1471. John Swyllington, of Pontefract, made 
his will, proved 5th September, 1471, giving his soul, \it supra, and 
his body to be buried in the church of All Saints, Pontefract. 

20th May, A. D. 14S2. Thomas Challoner, vicar of All Saints 
Pontefract, made his will, pioved penult. July, 1482, giving his soul, 
ut supra, an<l his body to be buried in the chancel of the said 
c2uirch. 



HISTORY OF PONTKFRACT. 27^5 

Penult. May, A. D. 148i;, Tiiomas Harryson, A.M. vicar of 
the cliurcli of All Saints, Pontefract, made liis will, jiroved 6"th 
June, 148.9, f^iving- his soul, ut supra, and his body to be buried 
according- to the custom. 

15t,h July, A. D 1497. Roger Harto]), of Pontefract, made his 
will, proved 28th June, 1499, giving his soul, ut supra, and his body 
to be buried in the church of All Saints, before the image of SL 
Peter. 

Ult. March, 1547. Rich.ard Thwaites, of Pontefract, made his 
will, proved 21st July, 1547, giving his soul to God Ahnighty, St, 
Marj^, and All Saints, and his body to be buried in tlic church of 
All IJ allows, in Pontefract. 

18th July, 1548. William Arthyngton, of Knottingley, gentle- 
man, made his will, proved 8th May, 1549, giving his soul, ut supra, 
and his body to be buried in the quire, before his stall, within the 
church of All Hallows, in Pontefract. 

27th July, IGOO. Bridget Eltofts, of Brotherton, made her will, 
proved February 26, IGOl, giving her soul to God Almighty, her 
Creator and Redeemer, &c. and her body to be buried in the parish 
church of All Hallows, in Pontefract. 

March, 4, 1600. Leonard Healaigh.e, of Pontefract, gentleman* 
made his will, i)roved April 30, 1601, giving his soul to God Al- 
mighty his Creator, and to Jesus Christ his Redeemer, and his 
body to be buried in the parish church of Pontefract, nigh his wife. 

January 15, 1606. Henry Kaye, of Knottingley, gentleman, 
made his will, proved April 21, 1G07, giving his soul to God Al- 
mighty, and his body to be buried in the paiish church of Ponte- 
fract. 

September 7, 1G13. Christopher Sands, of Pontefract, gent, 
made his will, proved, Dec. 18, HiiS, giving his soul, ut supra, and 
his body to be buried in the parish church of Pontefract. 

January 8, 161G. William Stables, of Pontefract, made his will^ 
proved May, 8, 1()17, gi\T:ng his soul to God Almighty, his Creator 
and Redeemer, and his body to be buried in the parish churchyard 
of All Hallows, in Pontefract. 

January 16, 1618. John Frank, of Pontefract, alderman, made 
his will, proved July 2, 1622, giving his soul, ut supra, and his. 
body to be buried in the parish church of All Hallows, Pontefract. 

1619. William Holgate, of Pontefract, gentleman, made his 
will, proved May, 4, 1620, giving his soul, at supra, and his body 
to be buried in the parish church of All HallowS;, in Pontefract^ 
near his father. 

May 9, 1620, Richard Thwaites, of PontefrSct, gentlexnan, made 
his will, proved June 15, 1620, giving his sou-] to God Almighty, 
and hoping through Jesus Christ to be saved, and his body to be 
buried in the parish church of All Hallows, in Pontefract. 

December 19, 1621. Allen Aire, of Pontefract, gentleman, made 
his will, proved May 9. 1622, giving his soul, ut supra, and hia 
body to be buried in the parish church of All Saints, in Po;vtefrvCt. 

January 17, 1626'. Henry Franke, of Pontefract, made his will, 
proved April, 13, 1G27. giving his soul, ul supra, and his body to 
to be buried in the south alley of the chvuxh of All Hallows^ Foa- 
tefract, near his sister Thwaites^ 



276 HISTORY OF FONTEFRACT. 

Jul)' 27, 1627. Administration of the goods of Thomas Pulleyn, 
late vicar of Pontefract, deceased, was granted to Francis Pulleyn, 
his son. 

April 18, 1628. John Grymesditch, of New-Hall, esq. made his 
will, proved giving his soul, ut supra, and his body to be 

buried in the parish church of Pontefract, near his father. 

December 12, 1672, John Ayscough, of Pontefract, gentleman, 
made his will, proved Oct. 8, 1679, g'ving his soul to God Almighty, 
his creator and Redeemer, and his body to be buried in the parish 
lihurch of Pontefract. 



In the eastern part of the church, is a tomb erected to the 
memory of Richard Ayre : with the following inscription on a brass 
plate : — 

' Here lies the body of Richard Ayre, of Pontefract Castle, gen- 
tleman, who dy'd the 2d. Day of July, 1682, and in the 68th year 
of his age.' 

' Here also lieth the body of Elizabeth, his Daughter^ who dy'd 
before him, viz. in May, 1680. 

As thou art, so vrere we; 

And as we are, so mvist thou be f 

' Here lyeth the body of William Clifton, Gent, who departed 
this life ye 18th of November, 1720, Aged 61 years. Jamq. dies (ni 
fallor) adest, quem semper accerbum quem honoratum (sic DivoluistisJ 
habebo Virg.' * Here also was interred the body of Sussaria, his 
wife, who departed this life the 27th of January, 1731, aged 68 years.' 

Also on another stone the following inscription appears ; — 

Thomae Fish, de Pontefract, 

Pharmacopolse 

Quam Provinciam 

et egregiis Doctrinae subsidiis instruetus 

et indessa Industna usus 

et humanissima Suavitatem imbutus 

Felicissime administravit 

Cujus in Societate Amenitas Fidesq. tutissima 

Omnes Munificentia Hospitalitas 

ita suis dilectum redidit 

Vicinis 

ut Nomen ejus bene audiat 

Pie -in Xto obdomorvit. 

Vicesimo die Martii 

1729. 

Maria Fish Vidua mestissima 

Optimo M** rito Memorise 

Ergo hoc Epitaphium 

posuit 

Dies Mortis iEtern* 

Vitae Natialis est 

Hicjacet Maria Fish Vidua 

praedicti Thomae Fish qu** 

Obiit Septimo die Junii. A D. 

MDCCXLIV, .Etat, 

55, 



HISroRY OF PONTEFKACT. 277 

On another little mutilaied stone : — 

* Here lyeth tlie body of Jane, Davgter of Samvel Drake, vicar 
of Pontfract, who was buried July, the 22. 

Mr. Thomas Gent placed a tomb in the churchyard to tlie memory 
of his friend Mr. William Tatham, in p^ratitude for the kindness he 
had extended towards him during his lifetime. 

* Here lieth interred the body of William Tatham, Gentleman, 
of Tanshelfe, in the parish of Pontefract, Coroner ; who departed 
this life, the sixteenth Day of March, Anno Domini, 1737, in the 
C7th year of his age.' 

Another ancient tombstone, has lately been discovered in the 
interior of the church. The form of a sword with ornamented hand 
is engraven in the centre of the upper part, having on each side of 
it, on the top, a circle, divided perpendicularly by a dagger, and 
the following inscription around it : 

and on the lower part near the blade of the sword, on each side, 
is a shield bearing an animal resembling a rabbit. Tlie lower part 
of the stone is greatly mutilated and the following is all that can be 
made out of the inscription : — 

^rate pro amrna * * * 
\)OQij ****** 

On a pillar entering the eastern aisle is rudely carved the head 
of a man and the following inscription : 

STACOLUMPHAPIA: 
RTTILDAPARTAMARIE 

A traveller on beholding the crumbling walls of this venerable 
structure of All Saints, thus writes : 

' The church near the castle, rendered useless by the loss of the 
roof, comes in proof of the inability of the parishioners to repair it for 
divine service. They give a strange excuse for this by informing visi- 
tors, that the building was thus reduced during the siege in Charles I. 
reign. This seems improbable, as all the exterior work is rather per- 
fect. The design gives a body, side aisles, transept, chancel, centre 
tower, &c. the whole an admirable performance. There is something 
peculiarly striking in these remains, and it may not inaptly be called a 
beauty in distress ; and yet no admirer of our English architecture 
comes to pity, and to save ; that is to repair and restore.* 

' Adieu ! ye (lomes, by many an age array'd 
In many a tint, though crumbling and decay'd ! 
Ye wrecks, adieu ! — that murmuring from on high. 
To pensive pride, a dumb memento sigh ! 
Still may your aisles in hoary pomp sublime. 
To new-born eras, mark the lapse of time.' 



* Gent. Mag. No. 95. 222, 



278 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY. 



The church of St. Mary de Foro, (now called St. Giles,) is men- 
tioned in the charter of Hugh de la Val, as early as the time of Henry 
I. ; and from circumstances noted in the charter, it must have been 
built some time anterior to this period. In the will of William Hagr 
wyk, in the commeixcement of the fifteenth century, it is also men- 
tioned under the title of St. Mary, as well as in many other testamen- 
tary burials in All Hallows church ; and as there was a chantry in 
All Hallows, dedicated to the blessed Virgin, it is very probable that 
its ancient name was St. Mary ; and that St. Giles was given to it on 
account of the annual fairs of the town being held on St. Giles' day. 

Leland calls it St. Leonard's in the Frith, and thus writes : — 
* Whereas now the faiifest parte of Pontfract, stondeth on the toppe of 
the hille, was after the conquest a chappelle with a few sparkelid 
houses; the chapelle was called St Leonard's in the frith, and as I 
lerne this part of the towne was caullid Kyrkby.' As no other .writer 
hath, however, given to it this name, it is most probable that Leland's 
account is erroneous ; for we have undoubted proofs of its first being 
in the centre of a wood, and therefore it must have been erected long 
ere he flourished, as he expressly states, that the fairest part of the 
town surrounded it. 

The north west part of this church belonged to the canons of St. 
Oswald, and was dedicated to that saint, whose.name was a favourite 
in Yorkshire, * for sinners as well as saints.' He was king of Bernicia 
and Northumberland, and restored the Christian religion into his do- 
m:inions, in the seventh century, after the relapse of his brother and 
predecessor into Paganism. He acquired the good will of the monks, 
afterwards his historians, and by them was so highly celebrated for his 
piety, that after his decease, his reliques were reported to have per- 
formed miracles, and amongst many others, to have cured a sick horse, 
grazing near his tomb. 

This church, through the instigation of Archbishop Thurston, was 
granted by Hugh de la Val with all its appurtenances to the priory of 
St. John the Evangelist.* 

It was formerly of very small dimensions, and after the south aisle 
and chancel was added to it, it was then styled St. Oswald's, with St. 
Giles' chapel annexed. The old steeple was about seven yards square, 
and thirty-six yards in height to the summit of the spire, and was pos- 
sessed of no bells. Being in a very ruinous state, it was taken down in 
the months of April and May, in the year 1707, and sir John Bland, of 

* Dugdale's Monasticon AngUcanum. 619. 




^ 



^ 



J^ 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 279 

Kippax Park, knight, then member for the borough, gratified the wish 
of the inhabitants, by building at his own expense, a new steeple, 
which cost him 100^. The length of the church is forty-two and three 
quarter yards, from east to west, and the breadth from north to south, 
eighteen yards and two feet. 

In the year 1553, Roger Frykleys was its priest, and enjoyed an 
annuity of 5/. and besides this there were granted to Henry Shaive in 
recompense of obits, 61. and to Travers Mallett, incumbent of the 
castle chantry, 61. I3s. 4d. 

During the siege of the castle of Pontefract, the church of All 
Saints was rendered so very ruinous, that it was deemed necessary to 
perform divine service in St. Giles', formerly a chapel of ease ; and, it 
was then appropriated to the use of the parish, was considered the 
parish church, and enjoyed the rights usually attached to one. 

It had been customary for the diiferent townships to contribute an 
annual sum as a church assessment ; and owing to some extraordinary 
expenses being incurred, the township of Knottingley refused* its 
proportion, which caused a suit to be commenced between the town 
ships of Pontefract and Knottingley. After a considerable expense had 
been incurred, the parties came to an agreement, that the township of 
Knottingley, should pay annually, hereafter and for ever, twelve 
pounds and no more, to the parish of Pontefract. 

It was by act of pailiament, 29 George III. made parochial, and 
great improvements have been since made in it. Its interior is neat, 
and it is in good repair, yet the composition of its architecture, will 
never bear a comparison with what All Saints' church once was. The 
traveller and antiquary on beholding St. Giles' will not be struck with 
such awful impressions as he would be in contemplating the nodding 
ruins of All Saints. It is contracted in its dimensions, of a mixed 
order of architecture, and bears a resemblance (as a reverend author 
states) to a Conventicle. 

Its chancel is ornamented with a fine painting of the crucifixion, 
executed by Mr. John Standidge, a self taught artist of eminent merit, 
and a native of the town. The ordination of the vicarage and list of 
the vicars down to the restoration, will be found in the description of 
AH Saints, and the following is a list of the vicars from that period : — 



* They set forth that the expenses incurred, were for the repairs of St. Giles 
chapel, though purporting to he those of the church of All Saints, but tliis assertion 
could not be supported. The trial, however, discovered to the parishioners their 
humiliating condition. Their parish church was in ruins, almost irreparable; and they 
could not compel the parishioners to pay the assessment for the repairs of St. Giles'. 
It was well for them that the parliament, which is invested with the plenitude of power 
to consecrate, being applied to, constituted it their parish church. 



280 





HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 




Temp. Tiist. 


ricarii. 


Pa(roni, 


I^acat. 


12Junii, IWl. 


Samuel Drake, CI. 


Rex. C. 2 


p. mort. 


22 Jan. 1«7S. 


Francis Drake, A.M. 


idem. 


p. mort. 


19 Oct. 17U>. 


John Drake, S. T. B. 


Kex. G. 1. 


p. mort. 


6 Dec. 1742. 


Timolhy Lee, A. M. 


Rex. G. 2. 


p. resig. 


10 Jun. 1744. 


John Sturdy, A. B. 


Rex. G. 2. 


p. mort. 


llJulii, 1777. 


Thomas Heron. 


Rex. G.3. 


p. mort, 




Thomas Horncastle Marshall. 


Rex. G. 3. & 4. 





TESTAMENTARY BURIAL. 

William Hagwj'^ck, of Pontefract, esq. made his will, proved 16th 
January, A. D. 1414, giving his soul to God Almighty, St. Mary, and 
All Saints, and his body to be buried in the chancel of the parish church 
of St. Mary, of Pontefract. 

As to the ancient custom and usage of the claims of the vicar, the 
two following ancient terriers are the best that can be relied on. 

* Tlie churchwardens of the parish of Pontefract, answer to the 
seventh paragraph of the first title of the book of articles, given in at 
the metropolitan visitation of the most reverend father in God, John 
by providence, lord archbishop of York, primate of England and me- 
tropolitan, October 10, 1684. 

* Our present vicar, Mr. Francis Drake, hath a good convenient 
vicarage, with gardens and orchard on the back of it, situate as in the 
terrier is described. Also, one acre close, more or less, according to 
our estimation, called by the name of the vicarage close ; also, one 
house adjoining the chapel of St. Giles, and fronting the cross j also, a 
stable fronting the chancel door,* 

* As oblations, two-pence a communicant, and all above sixteen 
years old ; our vicar hath two-pence a pound for every pound wage a 
servant hath. 

* Messuages, 3d. cottage 2c?. garden Id. reek ob. bees in kind, or 
compound, foals 6d. cows Id. calves ob. pigs in kind, line in kind, rape 
in kind, hens 2d. pigeons every tenth, dove manure every tenth mett, 
plow 6d. wool, lamb, ducks, orchards, and liquorice, in kind, if not 
compounded with during his time. 

' Surplice fees. — The cross aisle 6s. 8d. the chancel 10*. Burials in 
the churchyard 9d. within the body of the church I*. 6d. all mortuaries 
according to statute. Marriages with banns published 2s. 6d. with 
licence 5*. Churching of women their offerings. 

* Twenty shillings per annum for preaching two sermons on May 
Day and All Saints, according to the will of Robert Moore. 

' He doth and may receive all other tithes, dues, and oblations ; 
as liquorice, rape, &c. in kind, or if he please compound during his 
time, hay and corn only excepted. 

* This vicarage house with the gardens, orchard, and the close, were sold pursuant 
to the powers given in the above staled act of 29 Geo. III. • For constituting the church 
of St. Giles the parish church.' 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 28i 



Signed bv 
Matthew Sefton, Ferrybridge.* F. Drake Vicar. 

Thomas Jackson, Sam. William,^ 

John Lee, Thos. Taylor, 

Roger Tesop, Knottingley, Jervas Shil 



2 Vicar, 
liam,"^ 
■lor. I 
illito i 
irst, } 



Churchwardens. 



James Hurst, 

The other terriex' of the vicarage of Pontefract, which was given 
in at the archbishop's visitation, holden at Wakefield, Uth of August, 
A.D. 1727. 

Imprimis. A vicarage house and stable, containing in length 22 
yards, in breadth 19 yards and 1 foot. A garden containing 48 yards 
in length, and in breadth 21 yards j the length of the long walk to the 
harbour 28 yards, and the breadth two yards and two feet. The length 
of the little garden 19 yards and 1 foot, and the breadth 16 yards and 
2 feet. The lands of sir William Lowther east and west, the grange 
on the northward, and the street on the south. 

Also, one dwelling-house, near the market cross, adjoining upoTi 
the chapel of St. Giles. Also, one low room and chamber over it, for- 
merly a stable, adjoining on the house of Joshua Butler. 

One a*oft of glebe, containing by estimation, one acre and a half or 
thereabouts, be the same more or less, lying between the lands of Mr. 
John Hollam, west ; and of sir William Lowther, on the east ; on the 
field called Preal on the south, and a foldstead of Mr. John Hollam 
on the north. 

An account of lands and houses purchased at Woodlesford, in the 
parish of Rothwell, in the county of York, by the governors of the 
bounty of queen Anne, for a perpetual augmentation of the vicarage 
of Pontefract. 

One messuage, cottage, or dwelling-house, or tenement, with a 
shop, outhouses, and appurtenances thereunto belonging, now or late 
in the occupation of Robert Webster, or his assigns. 

Also, another messuage, cottage or tenement, with the outhouses, 
garth, and foldstead thereto belonging. 

Four closes of land, arable, meadow, or pasture ground, one close 
commonly called or known by the name of cow close, containing by 
estimation four acres, adjoining on Mr. Kitching's intack on the east, 
the way leading from Swillington Bridge to Woodlesford on the west 
and north, and a close called Hill Close on the south. 

One other close commonly called Cow Close Bottom, containing 
by estimation, one acre, adjoining to and upon the said close called 
Cow close. 

One other close commonly called by the name of the orchard close, 
containing by estimation, two acres, adjoining to and upon the said 

* Ferrybridge and Knottingley are townships in tlve parisli of Pontefract, 

N N 



282 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

cow close bottom on the north, the lands of Mr. Buntley south, and the 
highway leading from Woodlesford to Methley on the west. 

One other close commonly called, or known by the name of the 
hill close, containing by estimation, four acres, adjoining upon the 
said closes called orchard close, on the south; the said close and cow 
close bottom on the east and north ; and the said highway leading from 
\yoodlesford to Swillington Bridge on the west. 

Offerings. — Two pence for every communicant — messuage, 6d. 
cottage, 2^d. servants' wages, 2d. in each pound ; bees 1| per swarm ; 
bees, old stock, J d. per swann ; foal 6d. cow 3d. pigs in kind ; gar- 
den Id. hens 2d. pigeons according to the value of the cote ; dove 
manure the tenth measure ; plough 6d. wool in kind, or Id. per fleece ; 
lamb in kind, or 3d. per head; turkeys Id. each; goose, Id. each; 
duck. Id. orchards of liquorice, according to composition ; hemp, line, 
and rape in kind, or the value in money ; turnips, 2s. per acre ; 
potatoes 3*. per acre ; churchings, nothing ; burials in the church- 
yard 9d. in the body of the church 1*. 6d. at the west end, in the cross 
aisle 8*. 2^. and in the chancel 11^. 6^, marriages by banns 2*. 6<?. by 
license 10*. mortuaries according to the statute. 
Signed, JO. DRAKE, Vicar. 

Church wardens^—THOM AS FORREST. 

WILLIAM POPPLEWELL. 

A gradual increase in vicarial claims was observed until the year 
1796, when, as appears by a document delivered to Messrs. Perfects, 
dated 26th of April, the following tithes were claimed to be due : — 

For every messuage, 6d. each person above sixteen years old 2d. 
each pound in servants' wages, 2d. each pigeon cote, 5s. 7s. 6d. or 10*. 
according to the value ; each cow, 3d. each calf, 1*. each litter of pigs, 
2s. 6d. each foal, 1*. each turkey, Id goose. Id. duck. Id. plough, 6d. 
orchards, l*. in the pound, price or value ; gardens per acre, 10*. 
liquorice, 1*. in the pound, price or value ; nursery and seed ground, 
per acre, 10*. cabbages for feeding cattle, per acre, 7s. 6d. rapes in 
each pound price. Is. 6d. rapes when eaten, per acre, 3*. hemp and 
line, per acre, 5*. potatoes, per acre, 5*, clover seed and wood, in each 
pound price, 1*. 6d. turnips according to value, or per acre, 3*. each 
lamb, 6d. each fleece of wool, 2d. each acre of pasture allowing for the 
sustenance of profitable stock, 3*. 

This enormous increase in the claims, was the cause of much dis- 
satisfaction, and being wholly unsupported by ancient custom, it was 
deemed most prudent to adopt conciliatory measures, and for this 
pui-pose a public notice was issued, ' To the proprietors of houses and 
land in.the parish of Pontefract, &c.' 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 283 

In consequence of the proposals therein specified, several meetings 
of the proprietors were held, and an act of parliament* was obtained 
the year following for the commutation of the vicarial and rectorial 
tithes, by a payment of a corn rent. The different parties agreed to 
receive certain sums of money in lieu of their respective claims as lay 
impropriators ; and the sums were to be regulated by the average price 
of corn for the last seven years, as will appear from the extract of 
the act. 

According to the purport and intention of this act commissioners 
were appointed, a valuation of the parish was made, and the following 
award rendered final. 

The commissioners, on enquiry, found that the average price of 
wheat, for the fourteen years preceding the passing of this act, was 
six shillings and three halfpence per bushel, and that 490bus. Ip. b%qts. 
would be equal to one hundred and fifty pounds, the sum to be paid to 
Lord Harewood, in lieu of his rectorial tithes, which they proportioned 
amongst the several townships in the parish as follows : 

Bus. p. qts. I. s. d. 

Pontefract, .. .. 203 1^ or 62 2 4 
Monkhill, .... 3 5^ or 5 8 

^n Jet for Dividing, Allotting, and Inclosing certain open and intermixed Lands and Grounds, 
within the Township of Pontefract, in the [Vest-Riding of the County qf York, and making 
Compensation for the Great Tithes qf the said Lands, and other Lands in the Townships qf 
Pontefract, Tanshelf, and Carleton, within the Parish of Pontefract, and also for the Ficarial 
tithes of the said Parish. 

* It was enacted that the tithes of corn» grain, and hay, and tithes of every de- 
nomination whatsoever, moduses or other payments in lieu of tithes, arising witliin the 
townships of Pontefract, Tanshelf, and Carleton, due and payoble to Lord Harewood, 
should cease and be for ever extinguished, and that in lieu thereof there should be paid 
to him in the nature of corn rents, the sum of one hundred and fifty pounds per annum ; 
also tliat the tithes of corn and grain, and tithes of every denomination whatsoever, 
belonging to Lord Harewood and Bacon Frank, esq. arising from and within a certain 
disputed district of land, should also cease and be for ever extinguished, and that in lieu 
thereof there sho\ild be paid such yearly sum of money per acre, in the nature of corn 
rents, as should be eoual upon an average to the other rents payable to the said Lord 
Harewood in lieu or tithes within the said townships of Pontefract and Tanshelf, and 
that for the purpose of ascertaining sucli sums of money or corn rents, the commission- 
ers should value all lands and grounds within the townships of Pontefract, Tanshelf, and 
Carleton, and by their award declare what proportion the lands and grounds within 
each of the said townships of Pontefract, Tanshelf and Carleton, should raise and pay 
in a gross sum ; and then rate such lands and grounds according to the proportion of 
the said annxial sums which the township wherein such lands and grounds are situate 
should be declared to raise and pay; and should in their said award ascertain and set 
forth what quantity of wheat would amount and be equal to the said yearly sums 
distinguishing the quantity of such wheat payable by each township ; and then appor- 
tion, settle, and ascertain the respective annual s\ims of money or corn rents at the rate 
per acre, which each and every proprietor of lands and grounds should or ought, 
upon such valuation, to be charged and chargeable with : And that an annual sum of 
two hundred and seventy pounds, free from all taxes and deductions whatsoever, 
should be assessed and raised in like manner, and paid to the vicar of the said parish 
for the time being, in lieu of and as a full compensation for the vicarial or small 
tithes, of every' denomination, belonging to the vicar, and Easter offerings ; and that 
the said commissioners should make a valuation of all houses and lands in Pontefract, 
Tanshelf, Carleton, Knottingley, East Hardwick, Spittle Hardwick, and Monkhill, 
and in such part of Ferrybridge as lies within the said parish of Pontefract, and should 
apportion, settle, ascertain, and assess the respective annual sums of money which 
each owner or proprietor of sxich houses, and lands ought to be charged with, and should 
then ascertain and declare what quantity of wheat should be equivalent to the propor- 
tion of the said annual sum which each respective owner and proprietor of houses 
and lands should by such award be assessed to pay, in lieu and full satisfaction and 
compensation of all vicarial or small tithes, and Easter oflerings thereby extinguisJicd;* 



^4 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Bus. p. qts. I. s. d, 

Tanshelf, .. .. 76 2 6 or 23 9 

Carleton, .. ..209 3 1 or 64 3 



490 1 5| ^50 



They also settled that the said disputed district should raise 
eighty three hushels and seven quarts, equal in value, at the rate 
aforesaid, to twenty-five pounds eight shillings and ninepence, which 
they awarded as follows : — 

Bus, p. qts. 

To Lord Harewood, 71 3 If 
To Bacon Frank, esq. 11 15^ 

83 7 



I. 


s. 


d. 


21 


19 





3 


9 


9 


125 


8 


9 



These commissioners also awarded that eight hundred and seventy 
three bushels one peck and three pints of wheat would be equal to two 
hundred and seventy pounds, the sum agi-eed to be paid to the vicar, 
in lieu of his vicarial tithes and Easter offerings, which they spread 
over all the houses and lands in the parish, each township beaiing the 
following proportions -. 





Btts. 


p- 


qts. 




I. s. d. 


Pontefract, . . , 


. 401 





n 


or 


124 10 11 


Tanshelf, 


79 


1 


n 


or 


24 9 2 


Carleton, 


100 





41 


or 


30 17 6 


Knottingley, 


. 186 


3 


31 


or 


57 12 2 


East Hardwick, . 


. 51 


2 


4 


or 


15 18 2 


Spittle Hardwick, 


33 








or 


10 1 9 


Part of Ferrybridfi 


re, 17 


1 


2} 


or 


4 6 10 


Monkhill, 


.. 3 

873 


3 
1 


21 

2f 


or 


13 6 




270 



The monuments in the interior of this church are very few. At 
the \vest end, on the right of the organ, is a monument of white 
marble ornamented with an urn, and surmounted by the arms of the 
deceased. 

* Sacred to the memory of captain Andrew Crewe, of an antient 
family of that name in Cheshire, (a branch whereof removed a century 
ago into Wiltshire ) who after 46 years spent with fidelity and reputa- 
tion, in the service of his country, retired to Pontefract, where he died, 
August 13th, 1744, aged 70. And of Mary, his wife, descended from 
the Moyles and Eyres of Devonshire and Wiltshire, who died Feb. 
the iSth, 1733, aged 63. Also, of Margaret, wife of William Crewe, 



HISTORY OF FONTEFRACT. 285 

son of Andrew Crewe of this town, Esq., and daughter of Edmd. Abbot 
of the same place gentleman, who died April the 12th, 1753, aged 59. 
And, of Catharine, second wife of William Crewe, and daughter of 
Charles Waterton, of Walton Hall, in this county, Esq., who died April 
the 25th, 1756, aged 34. And, of William, son of William and Catha- 
rine Crewe, who died in his infancy. Also, of William Crewe, who 
served the office of mayor of the corporation in the years of 1740, 1753 
and 1768, then resigned his gown, and retired from public business ; 
he died February the 21st, 1782, aged 76: 

On the left hand of the organ is another beautiful monument of 
white marble erected to the memory of Major Matthew Swinney. — It 
is surmounted by military trophies, and bears the following inscrip- 
tion :--« 

Consecrated to truth historical. 

' SwiNNEy the brave, the virtuous and the just ^ 

Hath mix'd his ashes with their native dust. 
For manhood's honors dawn'd iipon his face 
He prov'd his arms against the Spanish race. 
Wade, Stanhope, Mordaunt, Carpenter, Dalzell, 
With truth and rapture, if alive could tell. 
How fierce he fought, whilst fighting aught avail'd 
How sullen yielded, when our numbers fail'd. 
From hair-breadth scapes and bloody toils reliev'd. 
Many he gave, but ne'er a wound rec eiv'd. 
He spurn'd at cowards, with becoming pride, , 

Laurels his aim, and providence his guide. 
In peace neglected and reduc'd he sped 
Without one murmur to his hoiriely shed. 
Called forth, at last, by warlike George to view 
He drew his broad sword, and he used it too. 
His dauntless heart at Dettingen was try'd 
When Brunswic glow'd with William at his side. 
Grown old, yet vig'rous, in his country's cause 
The king dismiss'd him with a loud applause. 
But soon as traytors sought his master's right 
And English troops, for once, forgot to fight. 
Soon as his bleeding son, was pris'ner made 
And fools were shelter'd by their white cockade. 
He left his vine, his figtree, and his wife*^ 
And rushed impetuous to the doubtful strife. 
The dirk and target grac'd his joyous hall 
Crown'd by his sword, cuirass and iron cawl. 
Should busy mortals ask * How much he gave 
To his five children 'ere he sought the grave.* 
Fortunes he gave, whilst living, to his sons 
And to his daughters, blessed portions. 
Portions ! the best that children can receive , 
Fortunes ! the best that best of men can give. 



286 HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT. 

He form'd their minds to every gospel grace 
( His better self assistant in her place). 
When ripening years demanded others cares 
Nor cost, nor pains for learned guides he spares. 
Bless, reader, bless with thy reluctant tears 
This christian soldier in the vale of years. — 
Lov'd by his comrades, by his troop rever'd, 
By good men courted, by the wicked fear'd. 
If honor, truth, and justice can ensure 
Bliss to his soul, in bliss he lives secure.' 

* Major Matthew Swinney was born in the kingdom of Ireland, in 
the year of our Lord 1684 : he married Mary, eldest daughter of Roht. 
Kitchingman, esq., by whom he had issue, three sons and two daugh- 
ters, all his survivors : he died March the 3rd, 1766, aged 82 years, and 
is interred within the choir of the old church.' 

* The epitaph inscribed upon this marble being meant to convey 
imformation and instniction to the unlearned reader, was composed in 
the English tongue : and the monument itself was raised at the joint 
motion of the deceased's three sons, George, Sidney, and Bladen. ' 

The eastern end of the church, (where the communion table stands) 
is ornamented by a glory, with the letters I. H.S., on the left hand of 
which is placed, the Lord's prayer, and the first five commandments ; 
and on the right hand, the last five commandments, and the creed, all 
inscribed in gold letters on a black ground. Above the glory ^ is placed 
a beautiful painting of the crucifixion, on each side of which is an 
escutchion to the memory of the late king and queen of England. 
Above the arches on the south side appear two other escutchions, a 
large painting of the royal arms, and a monument of white marble 
erected to the memory of the family of Lambes of East Hardwick, 
sui-mounted by their arms, and bearing the following inscription : — 

* Sacred to the memory of Ann, daughter of William Lambe, esq., 
of East Hard^vicke, in this county, and Sarah, his wife, who died on 
the 4th of Januaiy 1770. Also, of the above named William Lambe, 
who died on the 12th of May, 1782, aged 71 years. Also, of the above 
named Sarah Lambe, who died on the 10th of January, 1800, aged 76 
years. Also, Mary daughter of the above William and Sarah Lambe, 
who died on the 24th of November 1805, aged 53 years. These re- 
mains are deposited within the old church, in this parish. Also, John 
son of the before named William and Sarah Lambe, who died in his 
infancy. Also, of William Lambe, esq., of Tilgate House in the 
county of Sussex, and of East Hardwicke, in the county of York, a 
magistrate of both counties, and a bencher of the Honble. Society of 
of Gray's Inn, who departed this life on the 16th of May, 1S23, in the 



HISTORY OF PONTFFRACT. 28/ 

74th year of his age, son of the before natned William and Sarah 
Lambe. — His remains are deposited under Clapham Church. 

This marble is paced here as a tribute of respect, by Elizabeth,, 
relict of the last mentioned William Lambe. 



THE CHURCH OF ST. CLEMENT, 

IVithin tlie Castle. 

This church or free chapel was built by Jlbert de Lascy, Ctemp. 
Gulielmi Rufi,) about A. D. 1100,* and was dedicated to St. Clement,t 
and was very probably designed as a place of worship for himself and 
attendants, including those who dwelt in the park and St. Nicholas'.t 
hospital. It appears to have been but of small dimensions, and not 
capable of containing a greater number than 300 persons. 

Ilbert amply endowed it with two parts of the tithes of the demesne 
lands of Camaselle (Campsall), Rodewell (RothwelU, Darnintone 
(Darrington^ Barwica (Berwick in Elmet), Parlington, Chipseycum 
Alreton and Ledstone, and for which the said church had one mill in 
Newsome. Also, the tithes of his demesne in Octon ("Glass Houghton), 
Wilmerslie ( Womersley^ Camaselle et Emesalle C Campsall and Elm- 
sail j, and Linsey in Lincolnshire; in Cherisbery and Frisbery, in 
Nottinghamshire ; in Hickleton, Stainton, andLusham, in Oxfordshire; 
the tithes puUorum armenti sui, and of his piscary at Knottingley, of 
apples in Rodewell ; Cherswist and Went (^Wentbridge^, of his mill 
at Burgo, fBurghwallisJ, together with five Oxgangs of land in 
Knottingley. 

Robert de Lascy gave in Knottingley the sixth part of an oxgang 
of land, in lieu of which, he afterwards gave two parts of the tithes of 
Norton, great Emesalle, and Hemelswurd. 

He also gave two oxgangs of land in Feria, (or Ferrybridge \) and 
Roger Pictavus gave two parts of the tithes of grain, in Altofts. Ilbert 
de Ramos villa gave two parts of the tithes of grain, of his own land, in 
Camaselle. 

Ernulphus gave also two parts of the tithe of grain in Prestona (or 
Purston Jagiin ;) and the same in Rovedena. 

Gilbert, the son of Dama, gave two parts of the tithe of grain in 
Stapiltona, and Rodulphus, the same in Thorpe-Audlin, and the tithe 
of the mill there. 



* Tanner's Mon. Ang.64I. Dugd.Baroni. i.9I. 
t Dodsworth's MSS. ix, 239. 
t In the certificates of Colleges, i. Edwd. VI. it is stated tjiat all their offerings 
and privy tithes to the dean, were made in St. Nicholas' Hospital. 



288 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Radulphus the son of Enelina de Stubs, near Enecelam, gave two 
parts of the tithe of grain ; and one Chemi the same out of his de- 
mesne. 

Henry de Lascy gave one half of the tithe of Scelbroke. 

William Pictavus gave two parts of the tithe of grain in Scaliella. 

Ansgotus Ruffus gave the same in Hampole, and Girardus de 
Ramos villa gave the half part of his own tithe in Smeadetona ; and 
Gerbadus two parts of the tithe of one carucate in Frystona- 

Umfrid de Villeo also gave two parts of the tithe of the corn in 
Snetela, and Newtonia.* 

Robert de Somerville gave the third part of one carucate of land in 
Seacroft.f 

This chapel was collegiate, and was considered a royal free chapelj 
and continued until the dissolution of religious houses. 1| It was pos- 
sessed of a dean and three prebendaries ; yet in the charter of Ilbert, 
son of Robert de Lascy, only are mentioned the prebends of Ranulphus 
Gramaticus, and^ Godfridus, the presbyter j as also the same two are 
only noted in the 26th Henry VIH. one consisting of the tithes in 
Campsall, and a pension from the prior of Nostall, and worth clearly 
14/. 165. 4d. and the other consisting of portions of tithes in Allerton, 
Newton, Castleford, Frystone, &c. worth Idl. Ss. 8d. j besides a chantry 
priest who had IOO5. per annum. The deanery is not noted. But in 
Stevens's supplement, i. 68, in the return made by the archbishop, 37 
Henry VIH. of all colleges, &c, the royal chapel of St. Clement within 
the castle of Pontefract, founded by Hyldebert de Lascy,§ is said to be 
of the yearly value of 221. 12s. 7d. ; the prebend or chantry of Adam 
de Potterton to be of the yearly value of 151. 3s, and the prebend of 
Theobold de Luce of 141. 5s. Ad. ; yet it is very probable, that the 
former of the two sums might be the value of the deanery.^ 

It was granted by Ilbert the founder, to the priory of St. John the 
Evangelist,** and at the dissolution of the said priory, an inventory 
was taken of its goods, ornaments, and plate ; and the goods were 

* The villages of Smithals and Newton. 

tit appears from these grants that the proprietors of lands considered tithes as 
personal property, and gave them in what place or proportion they thought proper. At 
this period it is evident that parish churches only received such tithes as were freely 
granted, and had no claim to any portion of tithes arising from other lands in the 
parish. 

t Free chapels were exempt from the jurisdiction of the ordinary, and were for 
the most part erected on manors and domains of the crown ; and when the kin,g parted 
with the estates, the chapels retained their former freedom. — Vide Mon. Ang. i. 659, 660, 
et 859 de fundatione et donatione hujus capcllae. — In cl. Rymeri Conventionum^ etc. 
tom. 42. Escaet. Ebor. 3 Edwardi III. n 69, de portione decimarium e rectoria de 
Camesale.— Pat. II Hen. TV. p. 1. m 4. pro Eccle. de Derthington. 

II And perhaps afterwards ; for Tanner says, in his Monasticon, p. 642, * unless it 
be a mistake in the memorandums, pat 5 Jac. I. p. 20, there is a grant of the prebend 
called Tlieobald de Luce. 

§ Hyldebert the son of Robert de Lascy, confirmed these tithes by the authority 
of Thomas, senior Archbishop.— Dugdale 659, 060. 

f Certef. in Augmentation Office. ** Dugdale, 649, 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

valued at two pounds eight shillings and ten pence, and the plate at 
four pounds fourteen shillings and eight pence. 

In the sixteenth century this church was in such a delapidated 
state, that it was deemed necessary to rebuild it, and queen Elizabeth 
had the honour of this undertaking, although she allowed it to retain 
its former name. 

At the rendition of the castle, this chapel was demolished along 
v/ith it, and nothing now remains but the traces of the foundation. 

DECANI CAPELL^, 

Temp. 

142* Dns. Thomas Wykerley. 

142* M. John de Waynfleete. 

143* M. JohnThorneton. 

144* M. John Latham. 

15** Jacobus Thwaytes. ob. Oct. 1545. 

James Thwaytes the last prior and seven brethren, with one novice, 
"were in this chapel, 23d November, A.D. 1540, 31 Henry VIII. He had 
a pension of 50^. per annum assigned unto him during his life. In the 
year 1553, there remained a charge of 51. in fees, and 35^. 4^. lOd. in 
annuities, as well as the following pensions : — To Stephen Hemsworth, 
^l.lSs.id.&nd to Henry Greene, Thomas Elstone, Henry Wlietleye, 
Henry Robinson, and Michael Burton, bl. each, 

PONTEFRACTI CAPELLA SUPER MONTEM. 

The church of St. Thomas Plantagenet, dedicated to the noble 
earl of Lancaster, was built on the summit of the hill, where he 
was beheaded, and stood on the north east side of the castle of Ponte- 
fract. It is now entirely demolished, and not a vestige remains to 
point out to posterity, where the first blood of royalty was spilt by the 
axe of the executioner. A windmill occupies the site of the chapel, 
and the hill retains the name of St. Thomas, from the earl having 
suffered there 'pro lege etjustitia anglia,' A.D. 1321.* 

Of this church, Knighton also notes, that * A.D. 1321, decolatus in 
quadem planicise extra suam villam, ubi nunc in dei honorem, et dicti 
comitis memoriam, fabricata est ecclesia mira stractura ;' and Leland, 
ii. 45, et seq. thus writes : * Prope oppidum in coUe ubi securi percus- 
sus fuit, erecta est ampla ecclesia non consummata tamen.' 

The church was very beautiful and stately, and the interior decora- 
tions elegant. Its erection was commenced by one Symon Symeon in 
the reign of Edward III. audit was finished on the 20th of November^ 
A.D. 1361. 

* Lay cock's Chronicles. 

O O 



290 HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT. 

In the interior was a very beautiful tomb^f built in commemora- 
tion of the earl ; from which, as Walsingham affirmeth, ' blood flowed 
out profusely in the year 1359 ;* and amongst numerous miracles, the 
two following are noticed more particularly by him, ' that his girdle 
assisted women in travail,' and ' his hat cured all pains in the head.' 
Hie in veneratione habent Thomas Lancastrise ducem, et ejus zonam, 
quae ut creditur parturientibus est salubris, et fellrum ejus pro dolore 
capitis. 

The archbishop of York ordained, that the prior and monks of St. 
John the Evangelist, should provide a secular chaplain, to celebrate 
mass daily in the chapel, to the memory of St. Thomas, who had been 
a special benefactor to the priory. The said prior, was by indenture, 
required to furnish a chaplain, a month after the first notice of any 
vacation ; and allow the said chaplain one hundred shillings sterling 
annually. 

John ai'chbishop of York, confirmed the ordination, on the 24th of 
May, A.D. 1373 ; and Symon Symeon appointed to the chantry for life, 
one chaplain, to celebrate mass for the souls of Elizabeth his wife, and 
of John and Henry, dukes of Lancaster. 

In the sustenation of the chaplain, Symon gave in franc almoigne 
to the priory, the whole of his messuages, lands, tenements and rents 
in Rothwell : viz. one messuage and twenty-four acres of land; and in 
Oulton one messuage and twenty acres of land. John duke of Lancas- 
ter, granted five messuages, and sixteen oxgangs of land in Middleton 
juxta Rothwell ; all which grants were confirmed by the chapiter of 
York, on the 25th of May, A.D. 1373. 

The letters patent of this chantry, dated 1 of Ed. III. ran thus : 

* Whereas, Robert Werington, clerk, is keeper of a work of a 
cliappell, to be built where the late noble Thomas, earl of Lancaster 
was beheaded, and the said Robert is to pass to the several parts of the 
kingdom, and is to send a messenger to receive alms for the building 
of the said chappell ; therefore the king takes the said Robert and the 
messenger he employs, into his protection and defence, in the going, 
staying, returning, &c. &c.' 

A short time only elapsed from the ordination of the chaplain, 
wTien the monks of the priory were dissatisfied in the appointment, as 
well as the salary annually allowed to him by them ; and on the 12th 
of January, A.D. 1412, a new ordination was made, that one of their 
brethren should act as chaplain, and receive the sum of forty shillings 
per annum.f 

t Thomas, Luncnsis comes, tempore E. II. pro sancto habituS; sepviltus apud Ton- 
temfi actum. — Lei. iv. 45', et sen. 
t Torre's MSS. Col. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFR^CT. 291 

CAPELLANI CAMT. 

Tertvp. In. Patrom. Vacate 

7 Deer. 13(51 Dns. John Ryther, Cap. Prior et Conv. de Pont. p. resig, 

13 Mar. 1367 Dns. John Thorparch, Pbr. iidem. 

1 Mail. 1381 Dns. Tho. Spellar de Acorn cap. iidem. p. mort. 

6 Julii, 1409 Dns. Will. Sunnyng, Pbr. iidem. p.resig. 

16 Maii, 1412 Dns. Rob. Killeston iidem. 

Leland in his works, vi. 140, in mentioning the abbey of St. Ed- 
mundsbuiy, states that in this church of St. Thomas, were beautiful 
monuments erected to the memories of St. Edmund; Alan, earl of 
Britane, and Richmond, (nephew to William the Conqueror); and Tho- 
mas de Brotherton, the first earl of Noi'folk; but all these mementos 
of grandeur and magnificence perished entirely at the dissolution. 



HERMITAGE, AND ANCIENT GROT. 

Adjoining to the church of St. Thomas, was founded an hermitage, 
about the year 1368., It was begun by Adam de Laythorpe, and Robert 
his son. The lands belonging to it were very extensive, as appears 
from the several grants. 

* Robert de Laythorpe gives to brother Adam, the hermit, for life, 
a place for an hermitage, extending to the mansion of the friars 
preachers ; and betwixt the lands of William Some, on the east, and 
the curtilage that John Naylor held on the west. Witness, T. John 
Clerk, bailiff of Pontefract, John de Sampal, Adam Enys, &c. Dated 
9, Richardi II., 1368.' 

'Henry Manys of Pontefract, and Marjery his wife, and Joan 
Laythorpe, sister to Marjery, give to William Porlington, a tenement 
for an hermitage for his wife, in the venell leading from Malfay gate 
to the mansion of the friars preachers, betwixt the gardens of Thomas 
Elys, containing 30 feet in breadth, and 90 feet in length, which said 
garden Thomas Elys licensed John Queyks to build an hermitage 
upon. Witness, — John Hippon, and William de Wakefield, bailiffs 
of Pontefract. Dated 7, Henrici IV.' 

* John Bunnyman releaseth to Marjery Laythorpe, and Joan her 
sister, all the same, expressing that Adam de Laythorpe and Robert 
his son, were the first founders of the hermitage. Dated 5, Henrici V.' 

* John Fenton, and Marjery his wife, and Joan her sister gave the 
hermitage to John Lound, chaplain of York, for his life. Witness, — 
John Brighton and William Scriven, bailiffs of Pontefract. Dated 5, 
Henrici V. 

* Joan, daughter and heiress of Robert Laythorpe, gives the said 
hermitage to Henry Lacy, chaplain. Witness, — John Burnerby and 
William de Wakefield, bailiffs of Pontefract. Dated 8, Henrici V. 



292 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACr. 

* Robert Elys of Fairburn, Arg. grants to John Frankeye, of Warn- 
field, the gardens &c. for the life of John Hudyrfield, canon of the 
monastery of St. Oswald ; so that the said Hudyrfield have the said 
John Frankeye and Katherine his wife in his prayers, &c. Witness, — 
Thomas Draper and John Bernyke. Dated 8, Henrici V/ 

* Robert Elys, of Everingham, gentleman, gives to John Hudyr- 
field, prior of Rosvelle, all his right in a tenement called ' the 
hermiiage' in POntefract, bound on each side by the lands of Thomas 
Elys. Leeds, and Eliza his wife confirms the above. Witness, — Robert 
Fleming, John Burton, & Thomas Challoner. Dated 9, Henrici VI. 

'Thomas Elys, of Kidhall, esq., releaseth to the said John- 
Hudyi-field, near the house of the friars preachers, a parcel of ground 
adjoining, being 30 feet broad and 90 feet long, betwixt the lands of 
the said Thomas Elys on the east, and the venell of the Malfay Gate 
on the north, &c. Witness — John Hill, mayor of Pontefract, Robert 
Rishworth, and Robert Austwick, Sec. Dated 12, Henry VI. 

In a garden belonging to Flintoff Leatham, esq. which is situated 
about 200 yards distant from the site of the house of the fiiars preach- 
ers, northwards, is an ancient grot, which has undoubtedly been either: 
an appendage to the priory, or has composed a part of the hennitage 
above-mentioned. 

It is hewn out of the solid rock, and over its outer door, are rudely^ 
eut the following letters : D. I. T. I. S., which have been conjectured to 
be placed for the words ' Deo in Trinitate, Jesu Salvatore,' * to God in 
tihe Trinity, and Jesus the Saviour.* 

On descending into this grot by three steps, you enter a room, the 
dimensians of which are about four yards in breadth and three in 
length, opposite the outer entrance is another door, on passing 
which, you descend a flight of 59 steps, regularly formed out of the 
solid ro ck, round a centre As you descend, about half way down, 
on the left hand, appears a large fissure in the rock, through which is 
seen the bottom. These steps terminate in a large bason of pure 
spring water, around which on the sides of the basin, are cut a great 
number of initials. 

COLLEGE OF CARMELITES, 

OR WHITEFRIARS. 

The order of Carmelite friars had their rise in Mount Carmel, in- 
the Holy Land, and is said to have been founded by Almericus, bishop- 
of Antioch,in the year 1122. As Mount Carmel had been honoured by 
the residence of Elijah and Elishathe prophets, they pretended to derive 
'^jeir origin from thence, by an uninterrupted succession of brethren. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRAC'T. 29S 

They practised the greatest austerities, as essentially necessary to 
subdue the flesh, and secure final happiness. They rose in the summer 
at four o'clock in the morning, and in the winter at five. They slept 
in their coffins upon straw, and on every morning they dug a shovel 
full of earth in forming their graves. They crept on their knees to- 
devotion, and imposed on themselves strict silence from vespers until 
the tierce next day. They ate twice in each day, but refrained from 
flesh meat. They were enjoined confinement in their cells, and ta 
continuance in prayer ; and fasted from the feast of the Holy Cross 
until Easter. The rigour of their discipline was relaxed by pope 
Innocent IV. and the pious brothers who had grown weary of mortifi- 
cation, were once again permitted the use of ftesh meat. 

From their dress they were called White friars, from their first resi- 
dence, Carmelites, or brethren of the blessed Virgin, and from their 
poverty, mendicants. Their rules were given, them by St. Albert, 
patriarch of Jerusalem, about the year 1205.* 

They came into England about the same period as the Benedictines, 
A.D. 1240, and Edmund de Lascy, earl of Lincoln, and constable of 
Chester, who died about the year 1257, granted to them a house here ;t 
although no vestige remains or tradition points out where it stood. 

Leland, when describing Pontefract generally, thus writes : — ' This 
parte of the toun where St. Leonard's in the Frith stands, as I lerne is 
callid Kyrkeby, and in this parte of the toun Edmund de Lasey builded 
a house of Whitefriers.'J 

The resignation of the house is enrolled to have taken place in the 
31st year of the reign of Henry VIII. amongst many others of the 
smaller religious houses. 

At what period the house of the Carmelites was built, no document 
hath yet been found to elucidate. Camden mentions a college and 
hospital being in Pontefract, previously to the conquest ; but where 
the buildings could be situated is uncertain, || unless they were the 
house afterwards inhabited by the Carmelites, as the ruins of all the 
other buildings testify them to be of a more modem foundation.§ 

AUSTIN FRIARS, OR FRIARS EREMITES. 

Edward the first granted a license, dated Deer. 1, to William L. 
Tabouriere, to build in one of his messuages in the town of Pontefract, 

* Butler's Lives of the Saints. 

t Ch. Mon.— Duffd. Baron, i. 303.— Lei. Itin. i. 41.— Camden, 685.— Tanner, 685. 
t Camden, iii. 285. — Leland's Itin. i. 42, et seq. 

II Pat 15 Hen. IIL n. 13 Rex concessit Antonio Bek praebendam,, q,tiam Reiravm- 
dus habuit in ecclesia de Pontefracto. 
^ Leland, vi. 34,— Camden, G37. 



294 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

a certain hospital and oratory, to the honor of God, and of the glorious 
and blessed Virgin Mary ;* and other houses for habitations, for a cer- 
tain independent chaplain of the order of St. Augustine or Austin, and 
eight poor people therein ; and there can be but little doubt but that the 
houses called Bede Housesf composed the residence of these brethren J, 

Their habit was a long black gown with brown sleeves, and a fine 
cloth hood, and over these thej' wore a white rocket and sleeves. 
About their waist they had a leathern girdle, fastened with an ivory 
bone. II They also had beards and wore caps.§ 

They were -of the order of mendicants, and their rules were suffi- 
ciently precise and singular. They enjoyed all things in common, 
anji the rich who entered this order, disposed of their possessions, and 
appropriated the money, in equal porportions, to the brethren. The 
first part of the day they employed in manual labour, and the latter in 
reading and devotionary exercises. On the Saturday they were allowed 
to purchase necessaries, and on the sabbath day to drink wine. Their 
order was instituted by Augustine, bishop of Hippoo, near Carthage, 
A. D. 395 ; yet thej'^ were very little known in this country until the 
10th century. They were brought into England by Adelwulfus, con- 
fessor to Henry I ; and had their first house at Nostall, A.D. 1114.^ 

When they journeyed abroad, they were obliged to go two toge- 
ther, and they were not permitted to eat out of their convent, let the 
calls of nature be ever so urgent. The strictest chastity was enjoined, 
and the least sexual desire was deemed a mortal sin. 

A license was granted by Edward I. to Robert de la More to give 
ten shillings rent ; to William Cowper to give ten shillings rent ; to 
Thomas de Sale to give eighteen pence rent ; and to Adam Ernys to 
grant twelve acres of land in Darthington, to the said hospital and 
oratory.** 

At the suppression of religious houses in the year 1539, the follow- 
ing was the inventory of the goods &c. belonging to this house : — 

Pontefract friars preachers of the order of St Augustine. The 
mayor, keeper; clear value 3Z. 14*. Ad. The number of brothers or 
confessors, twelve, 11/. Pensions, 8/. Stock and household stufi", 
5Z. 10*. Ad. Lead, 4 fother, wifh 2 bells, and wood and underwood, 11/. 
Plate, 9 ounces. Remainder of goods, 3/. 2^. O^^.ft 

* Tanner's Monasticon, G91. 

t The name of Bede which is derived form Saxon bidam to pray, is synonymous 
with the latin term, oratory, a house of prayer. 

t Mon. Ang. tom. ii. p. 641. Pat. 15 Ed. 3. p 3 m 2. recit pat 8 Ed 3 pro fundatione 
et donatione. 

II Is'ewcotirt i. 289. Cuts in Stevens ii. 214. Dugdale's Warwickshire 1080. 

i Leland V. 84. Dugd. Warwickshire iii. 237. 

^ Reyner Apost. ** Dugdale's Mon. Ang. ii. 461, et seq. 

tt Dodsworih's MSS. a a a 21. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 205 

BEAD HOUSE HOSPITAL. 

This hospital, at the bottom of Micklegate, contained eight rooms, 
in each of which were placed two indigent persons. It is possessed of 
a small plot of ground lying at the back of it, which is rented at 5Z, per 
annum : as also, a garden at the bottom of Slutwell lane, called 
Favell's garden, which is rented at 4/. per annum, and is paid for the 
use of the sixteen poor persons, through the medium of the vicar, who 
is appointed trustee. 

The following is an extract of Mrs. Favell's will, from the registry 
of the exchequer court at York : — 

* In the name of God, Amen, I Catherine Favell of Pontefract, in 
the county of York, widow, being of sound mind and disposing memory 
(praised be God for the same,) Do make and ordain this my last will 
and testament in manner and form following : — 

Item, I give, devise, and bequeath, to the use of the hospital next 

to Pontefract castle, for ever. All that my close of meadow or pasture 

ground lying in Pontefract aforesaid, called Slutwell garth ; And I do 

appoint M. Drake, the present vicar of Pontefract, and the vicars of 

Pontefract for the time being, and their successors, and the said M. 

Walker and his heirs, to be trustees of the said charity, and to dispose 

of the yearly profits of the said close, to and amongst sioc \)Oov widows 

belonging to the said hospital, yearly, as they in their discretion shall 

think to be most necessitous. Dated the 2d day of May., in the year 

of our Lord J 722. 

Signed, CATHE FAVELL. 

Witnesses, Ann Wilford. 
her 
Ann X Oliver 

mark. 
B. Hepworth. 

Proved at York, 2d, July, 1723, by the oaths of William Walker 

and Ann Lowther, the joint executors therein named, to whom probate 

was granted, they having been first sworn, duly to administer. 

JOSEPH BUCKLE, 

Deputy Register. 

The hospital was built, 1670, during the mayoralty of John John- 
son, and the cost estimated at 100?. 18^. 7d. the particulars of the 
charges of which are as follow : 

53 roods of walling, at 7s, 6d. per rood, 19 17 6 

For feighting the ground work, 8 6 

For seven door steads, at 8s. each, 2 16 

— eight windows, at 6s. each, .. .. .. .. ., 2 80 

— seven doors and all materials to them, - 3 J3 7 

— lintels for brick chimneys,, and stone for groundwork, . . 12 6 

— two summer trees, ^ . . .... 200 

— gists, short andlong, ,, 4 15 4 



296 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

— laths, nails, and workmanship for chamber floors, ,. .. 17 2 

— lintels for doors and windows, IS'O 

— wall plates and dogs, .. .. .. .. .-. .. 2 4 

— balks, and two pairs of Gentries, .. 3 68 

— sidewavers, .. .. .. .. .. 2 00 

— sparrs, .. .. .. .. 3 14 

— lath nails, and moss for roofs, 2 20 

— slate and slating, 13 6 8 

— studs for partitions, nails, soletrees, laths, and workmanship, 4 10 

— lime, hair, and shooting, 2 10 

— Wrights' work, 6 

— corbells, rigging, and tabling, .. 1 13 4 

— nineteen loads of sand and leading, 8 9 

— eight deals, 10 8 

— rearing dinner, 15 

— traces. Is, tubs for lime. Is. carriage of bricks, 6d 2 6 

— 15600 bricks at 12s. per 100, 9 6 

— 36 sacks of lime, 110 

Stephen Shepherd, for building the chimnies, 8 10 

Given to bricklayers, It) 

Horse dung for pargetting ^^ 9_ 



In the year 1762, the following poor persons were in this hospital ^ 
they were all entitled to a share of Mrs. Favell's donation, and some of 
them had also parish pay, as marked. 

Dorothy Spence, Sarah Dawtry, 6d. 

Mary Carter, Alice Freeman, 

Ann Gibson, 9d. Elizabeth Lambert, 9d. 

Sarah Beedle, Ann Thompson, 6d. 

Ann Holmes, 6d. Mary Swain, 6d. 

Eleanor Lund, 6d. Elizabeth Shaw, 6d. 

Grace Eliot, Jane Gott, Is. 

Mary Beardshaw, Isaac Murgatroyd. 

These buildings were repaired during the months of July, August, 
and September, in the year 1776, at the expense of Mr. Wm. Perfect, 
alderman, and cost the sum of 40^. The greater part of this hospital 
has been added to the workhouse, so that now only fom- indigent per- 
sons are admitted. 

LAZAR HOUSE. 

Henry de Lascy in the 14th. Edward I. A.D. 1286,* built alazar 
house here, and dedicated it to the blessed and glorious Virgin Mary. 
The order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, seems to have been formed for 
the relief and support of lepers and impotent persons of the military 
order. 

Archbishop John Romain granted an indulgence to all those who 
contributed to the relief of the lepers therein.f In the year 1553, the 
chantry priest, Alexander Carver enjoyed a pension of 51 per annum. 

It appears probable that the present hospital, called Frank's hos- 
pital, at the bottom of Micklegate, is either the Lazar House, or was 
built on the site of it. The figure of a knight cut in stone in the waU, 
nearly as large as life, seems to justify the conclusion. This figure is 
now much defaced ; the arms have been broken oflFand the head nearly 
destroyed. 

* Tanner's Monast. 686. Camden's Brit. 687. 
t Vide Regis, Johannis Romani Archiepisc. Ebor. 



HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT. 297 

COWPER, OR BUTTS HOSPITAL. 

On the 20th May, 1668, Robert Cowper, of Danington, left by his 
last will and testament, two cottages or tenements, in Pontefract, then 
in the occupations of Richard Dawtry and Edward Bond, to the use of 
four poor widows of the town of Pontefract; and appointed Samuel 
Drake, D.D. John Ramsden, John Frank, and Robert Tatham, gents, 
feoflfees to elect poor widows out of the town of Pontefract, when and 
as often as vacancies should happen in either of the said two tenements ; 
and doth likewise desire and appoint, that when any of the said feoffees 
die, the succeeding number shall have power to elect another to act in 
his stead ; and also gave unto the said four poor widows for ever, 20s. 
each, yearly, to be paid by his heirs out of his closes at Purston Jagling, 
for the repairs of the said cottages and their relief for ever. 

The above twenty shillings each is paid by Mr. Rd. Saltonstall out 
of the rents and profits of a close of his in Bailey-gate, late Crook's, 
late Holcott's ; in lieu of it being paid out of the above lands of Purs- 
ton Jagling, every Christmas eve. 

Mrs. Frank has for some years claimed a right to place poor 
people in the above hospital ; but query ? to v/hom doth the right be- 
long, in case the survivors of the above trustees did not take care to 
appoint others in lieu of them that happened to die first ? which was 
as follows : Mr. J. Drake, D.D. John Ramsden, Jno. Frank, March 21, 
1697, Robert Tatham, Feb. 17, 1702. 

Mr. Robert Frank, son to. the above Mr. John Frank, one of the 
feoffees, by his last will and testament, dated 26th Deer. 1737, appointed 
the following persons to be perpetual trustees of the said hospital : 
Mrs. M. Frank, his daughter, the mayor, the three senior aldermen, 
and the vicar of Pontefract for the time being ; but it is doubtful whe- 
ther Mr. Frank possessed a right to appoint trustees. If he had, Mrs. 
M. Frank could have only one voice amongst the rest appointed. 

In 1762, the poor womerl in this hospital were Margaret Davies, 
Faith Nelson, Mary Elmley, and Mary Eccles. The hospital was situ- 
ated at a place called^Boner-hill, in the middle of the Beast-fair, where 
the corn market is now held ; but being in a v-ery ruinous state, as 
well as inconvenient in point of situation, it was taken down in the 
year 1765, and in lieu of it, the present hospital was erected at the 
Butts, during the months of May, June, and July, in the same year, at 
the expense of the town and corporation, and cost the sum of 901. 

The rents due to this hospital were these : — 

Paid by Mr. Taylor 50s. half yearly, at old Martinmas and old Mav Day, 
beina the the interest paid for 100/. left by Mr. Swinney, to the poor of 
this hospital, . . . . . .-500 

Paid by Mr. Seaton, half yearly 11. on the 25th Deer, and 25th June, left 
by Mr. Saltonstall, payable out of the land in occupation of Jno. Hunt, 4 



J9 (i 



P F 



298 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

THE DOMINICANS : or PREACHING FRIARS. 



*~Suh norma Benedicti famulmites. 



This order of monks came into England, in the year 1217;* and 
settled in this country in the year 1221, 5 Henry HI. They had a 
priory here, founded before the year I266,t by Edmund de Lascy, con- 
stable of Chester, which was situated on the south side of the town, 
embosomed in the midst of an extensive wood, (the memonal of which 
is yet retained by the name of Friar Wood Hill,^ with pleasant gar- 
dens and fishing ponds adjoining, and the whole surrounded by a stone 
wall. It was sheltered from the rude blasts of the north, by the town, 
and bounded on the west, by Friar Wood Hill. 

This order of friars was founded by Dominic de Guzman, a Spani- 
ard, born at Ceulageuraga, in the diocese of Osma, in Old Castile, 
about the year 1070. They were styled Dominicans from their 
founder, preaching friars from their of&ce to preach, and black friars 
from their garments. Their first habits were the same as those of the 
Austin canons, and for a while they followed the same niles and 
orders. 

Dominic, afterwards canonized a saint, was born at Nursia, in the 
dukedom of Spoletto, in Italy, A.D. 480+ and died about A.D. 543. His 
rule seems not to have been confii-med till 52 years after his death, 
when pope Gregory sanctioned it. He was one of those cruel enthu- 
siasts who preached up the crusade against the Albigenses ; by jWhich 
multitudes of unhappy people suffered martyrdom, for rejecting the 
idolatry, tj'ranny, and superstitions of the church of Rome. The 
order long inherited the spirit of its founder, holding the reigns of the 
infernal inquisition, by which many unfortunate beings were con- 
demned to the rack or to the flame. 

Their dress consisted of a black loose coat, or gown of stuff, 
reaching down to their heels, with a cowl and scapulary of the same 
material, and under this they wore a white flannel habit as large and 
as wide as the outer one. They had boots on theu- legs. 

The brothers were enjoined perpetual abstinence from flesh meat, 
and their diet was ordained of the coarsest fare. Their severity pro- 
cured them the name of sanctity, and rendered them superior in influ- 
ence to any other religious order. They studied the sacred scriptures, 
and devoted themselves continually to prayer. Their rules allowed 
them the enjoyment of property, yet poverty they held most favourable 

* Du.Pin. d. 12, p. 157. 

t Burton's Mon. Eb. 47.— Camden, iii. 286.— Tanner, 686. 

t Histoires ties ordies monastiques.— Stevens' continuation, i. Ifl, 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



2m 



to their rites. As their wealth increased, they relaxed in discipline, and 
became odious in many of the Catholic stated. 

Thomas de Brotherton was one of the brethren of this priory. He 
wrote of their institution, with the other religious houses of this place ; 
as well as of all the Saxon owners from Aske to Hyldebert de Lascy. 
Leland on perusing his history, confessed that he found more in it than 
he expected, and promised to give a large account of it in his intended 
work on civil history ; but death prevented this desirable object from 
being carried into effect. Thomas flourished about the year 1326.* 

Edmund de Lascy, constable of Chester, granted to the priory 
certain lands called East-crofts, adjoining to the mansion ; as well as a 
cart load of dead wood daily, from his park at Pontefract, in recompense 
of the tithes of the said lands. t 

A license was granted 6 Edward III. to Symon Pyper, chaplain to 
the priory, to endow them with another portion of land, as is thus 
noted: — * A license is granted 6 Ed. III. parte 2. m. 4. to Symon Pyper, 
chaplain, that he may give to the prior and brothers of the order of 
Fryer Prodicants of Pontfract, one perch of land, lying contiguous to 
their mansion .'J 

Some of the rules of this order were, after a short time from 
their institution, deemed remiss ; and Bernon, abbot of Gigny, in 
Burgundy, commenced their reformation, which was completed by 
Odo, abbot of Cluni, A.D. 912. This reformation gave rise to a new 
branch, called Cluniac monks, the first and principal sect of the Bene- 
dictines. 

There were nuns as well as monks of this order ; but the era of 
their institution is uncertain. Their habit was a black robe, and sca- 
pulary, with an under garment, or tunic of undyed wool ; and on their 
journey they wore a cowl similar to that of the monks.H Agnes de 
Pontefract, one of these nuns, was elected second prioress of the order 
of St. Benedict, at Arthington, in the deanery of the Ainsty, and arch- 
deaconry of the West-Riding, 14 K. Oc. (18 Sep.) 1.302, at the decease 
of Agnes de Screvin.§ She was afterwards elected first prioress of 
Hampole, in the deanery of Doncaster, and archd,eaconry of the West- 
Riding, on 2 K. March, (28th Feb.) 1312. * Agnes de Pontefract© 
commonialis domus,'^ but it is not stated how she vacated the office.** 

In the priory was interred Roger de Mowbray, who died in the 
51st year of the reign of Henry Ill.ft 

* Camden's Britannia, iii.238. 

t Charter to St. Mary, and the prioy of St. John the Evangelist of Pontefract^ 
dated 42 Henry III. 

t Stowe's MSS. II Stevens, i. 169. 

5 Reg. The. Corbridge, Archiep.Ebor. 16. 

% Reg. Will. Ernefield, pt. ii. 63, ** Burton's Mon. Eb. 26e. 

ft Dugdale's Baron, i. 125.— Mon.. Ang. i.653. 



300 HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT. 

Thomas Box, gent, was also interred here, as will be seen by the 
testamentary burial : — * 10th March, 1448. — Thomas Box, gentleman, 
made his will, proved 6th May, 1449, giving his soul to God Almighty, 
St. Mary, and All Saints ; and his body to be buried within the house 
of the friars preachers of Pontefract.'* 

Henry VIII. had various reasons for disliking all denominations 
of monks. He was provoked by their public and private declamations 
against his divorce with Catherine, his first queen ; as well as suspect- 
ing them of being spies, and conveying intelligence of everj'^ transaction 
to his greatest enem)-^, the pope of Rome, Visitors were therefore 
suddenly sent into the different parts of the kingdom, who transmitted 
all the proceedings of monasteries to parliament, and an act was im- 
mediately passed for the dissolution of all houses containing less than 
12 members, and not having a yearly revenue of 200/. Amongst these, 
this place was surrendered 26th November, 30th Henry VIII. 1-539, by 
the last warden, Robert Day, seven friars, and one novice,t and the 
house and lands granted to William Clifford and Michael Wildbore, 36th 
Henry VIII.: 

Thomas, the son and heir of Michael Wildbore, held the lands of 
the friars preachers, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, in socage y as 
well as lands in Knottingley. Dated 18th Elizabeth. 

Thomas Austwicke, mayor of Pontefract, in the year 1601 pur- 
chased the site of the priory for the sum of 250/., and had lOOOZ. offered 
to him for it, previously to the war ; but after his demise, Alan his son, 
being a very active person in the king's interest, and one^of the per- 
sons excepted from quarter, at the rendition of the fortress of Pontefract 
was constrained to dispose of these lands, by trustees, in the month of 
May, 1656, in order to redeem some other possessions, for the subsist- 
ence of himself and his brother Richard Austwicke. 



GREY FRIARS. 

Leiand mentions a house of grey friars iiere,l| but as he does not 
notice the dominicans or black friai's, it is possible that he has erred in 
this instance, as there is no mention of it under the seven custodies, 
into which the houses of this order in England and Scotland were 
allotted them.§ 

* Dods. Coll. 196. 

t Burnett's history of Reform, i. 145. Collec. of Records, 142 et seq. In the Aiigmen- 
tation office, is a book containing the account of the resignation and suppression of 
monasteries, and amongst them the deed of the monastery of Pomfret is enrolled oa 
the 2.3rd November, 31st Henry VIII. 

t ride pat. 3, Ed. II. m. 27, v. 28, Pat 16, Ed. III. p. 2 m, 

II Leland's Itinerary, 

<► Stevens' Supp. i. do. et seq. Gough's Camden, iii. 286. 




4 



History of pontbfract. 301 

THE PRIORY OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST ; 

OR, MONASTERY OF BLACK MONKS, CLUNIACENSES.* 

At the instigation of archbishop Thurston, Robert de Pontfract, 
son of Hyldebert de Lascy, founded this priory,t * sending for monks ad 
fanum Charitatis filiceCluni about the year 1090, in the reign of William 
Rufus'.J It appears that Willielmus the prior of La Charite, chief of . 
the order of Clugni in France, by the common council of his whole 
convent of Cluniac monks, had transmitted hither, under their great 
seal, some of their brethren previously to the erection of the priory ; 
and in consequence, Robert granted to them a certain religious house || 
within his manor of Kirkebye or Pontfract for their residence, until the 
priory was completed ;§ which was erected on that plot of ground, at 
Monkhill, now called the grange. It was dedicated to St. John 
the Evangelist and Apostle, their tutelar patron,^ and was founded 
for the health of the soul of William the Conqueror, as also for the 
souls of Hyldebert or Ilbert, and Hawyse, the parents of Robert, and of 
all his ancestors and posterity. 

The monks had a grant of the place from the founder, as well as 
of all his lands in Brackenhill ; together with the wardenship of St. 
Nicholas Hospital. 

They were primarily of the Benedictine order,** which con- 
forming too much to the spirit of the world, by the influx of its 
wealth, was amended and reformed by St. Berno, abbot of Gigny, 
in Bui'gundy, and increased and perfected by Odo, and other abbots of 
Clugny, A.D. 912, who enjoyed at this period unrivalled fame for the 
regularity in their house, and the strict sanctity of its discipline.ft 
Their rule was principally founded on silence, prayer, humility, and 
obedience. They were enjoined total abstinence from all kinds of flesh 
meat. A pound and a half of bread was allowed to each daily, and 
wine was wholly prohibited. Seven hours in each day were allotted to 



* Thomas Castlefordi (Leland de viris illust. Oxon. 1709, p. 331. see also in Ball and 
Pitts) historiam Pontefracti gesta sua caenobii. 

The book of Pomfret in the custody of Mr Bunney of Newland MS.Vincent Austis. 

In libro nigro Scaccarii, p. 315, de feodi, 1 militis. tent, de Henrico de Lasceio. 

Cartularium hujus prioratus penes dom. Tho. Widdrinton 16.52. Registrum in cus- 
todia Joannis Wentworth de Wolley in com.Ebor. arm. cujus apographum fuit penes 
Nath. Johnston, M.D. de Pontefracto. Registrum in manibus St ho. Kniveton, Reyner 
vol. i. p. 41 

t Pomfret Monasterium, Robertus de Lascy primus fundator: Cam. Brit. 696. 
Lei. Col. i. 45. 

t Mon. Ang. tom. i. p. 649.— 641. Burton. Mon, Eb.Eccles. His. p. 66. Tanner 643. 

II Leland says, that this house were the monks dwelt until the prioiy was erected, 
is now called the hospital of St. Nicholas i. 34, 41. Mon. Ang. tom i. p. 859, 869. Dods, 
MSS. vol. ix.p. 239. 

§ It appears that the priory vrzs not finished until the consecration of its church 
by Archbishop Roger, A.D. 1159. Mon. Ang. tom i. p. 650, Burton, Mon. p. 80. 

% Speed's Britaine, fol. 1082. b . 9. ch. 21. 

** Of this order were all cathedral priories (except Carlisle) and most of the rich- 
est abbies in England. Burton's Mon, p. 59. 

tt Rymer 1.158. 



302 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

them for manual labour, and two for pious reading, besides meditations 
from matins until day-break ; yet, as their wealth increased, manual 
labour was exchanged for sacred studies.* 

Their habit was a loose black coat or a gown of stuff, reaching 
down to their heels, with a cowl or hood of the same, and a scapulary. 
Under the long black gown, they wore another equally as large made 
of flannel ; and had boots on their legs. From the colour of their out- 
ward garment they were styled black monks.f 

The convent could not choose the prior, receive the profession of 
their novices, or settle any differences which arose amongst them- 
selves ; but were obliged to go beyond sea to the abbey from which 
they came, on all such affairs ; and a considerable part of their revenue 
was claimed and sent to their superiors.^ In the reign of Edward III. 
this priory, and all others of the same order, were discharged from all 
manner of subjection and obedience to any foreign abbey.il 

In erecting the priory, the monks had to contend with various 
difficulties. Their fnend and patron, Robert de Lascy, incurred the 
displeasure of Henry I. and was deprived of all his possessions, and 
banished the realm. Although Guy de la Val, his successor, renewed 
the charter granted by Robert, and gave several churches to the con- 
vent, it may be questioned whether he assisted them in that effectual 
manner, which might have been expected from their patron and foun- 
der. After the restoration of Robert de Lascy to the patrimony of his 
father, little was done until the time of Henry, his second son ; yet 
considering the property conferred on this house, and the facilites the 
monks generally enjoyed to accomplish their designs, and from their 
industry and perseverance, we may form some conjecture of the 
ancient grandeur of this priory. 

It is impossible to give any account of the number of which this 
convent consisted ; of the domestic servants, the internal economy of 
the house, &c. as no compotus has been presei-ved. From comparing 
its revenues with those of other houses, a full detail of whose expenses 
has been given, it may be conjectured, that it contained an establish- 
ment of more than two hundred persons.§ 

One part of the annual expences of these houses consisted in 
presents made to the great, whose favour they wished to conciliate. 
Whatever was delicious to the taste or fashionable in dress, they 

* Tanner's Not. 

t Butler's life of St. Benedict. — see the cut of a Benedictine monk in his habit 
in Dugdale's Warwickshire, i. 186. 

t The house of Clugny had a pension out of every house of that order in England, 
called apportus ; and Cotton Smith says, that the abbot of ClugTiy received not less 
than two thousand pounds annually. 

H Reyner's App. 192. 

i Whitaker, on Bolton Priory. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 3Q3 

purchased for thispurpose. Another part consisted in their hospitality 
and charity. As such houses were furnished with provisions of all 
kinds from the produce of their lands, herds and flocks, it was as usual 
then for gentlemen and travellers to go to such houses as it is now for 
them to go to an inn. Here also the poor, the sick, the aged and in- 
firm resorted, and their wants were regularly supplied. 

Adam'Fitz-Swain, the founder of Lund or Monk-bretton priory ,was 
a special benefactor to this priory. He made Lund priory dependent 
upon it, and ordained that as an acknowledgment of their dependency 
its monks should pay one mark of silver annually, to the brethren of 
the priory of St. John the evangelist.* He endowed it with all his 
lands in Bretton, the mills of Derne and Lund, and Meresbruck, 
(Masbrough) in Brampton, the churches of Newhall (NewMU), Rayn- 
bergh and Lyntwayte. Also, he gave the chapel of St. Andrew, near 
Culcoit (in Cumberland^ ; and appointed Adam prior of Pontefract, 
once prior of Arden, in the deanery and archdeaconry of Cleveland, to 
be custos thereof; after whose decease, the prior and monks of Ponte- 
fract were to appoint other fit persons to the governance. 

By the liberality of several individuals the i-evenues of this cell 
increased ; and the brethren began to feel their subjection galling. On 
the demise of their superior, a contest arose between them and the 
monks of Pontefract. They stated their grievances and applied for 
redress to pope Alexander IV, and he, in the first year of his Pontificate, 
A.D. 1255, 39 Henry IIL commissioned the dean and archdeacon of 
Lincoln to decide between the parties.f The decision, however, not 
being satisfactory to the monks of Bretton, they again applied to the 
prior of La Charite, in France, who finally ordered, *that the monks of 
Monk Bretton should pay annually nine marks to the priory of Ponte- 
fract, and 20s. as an acknowledgement of their subjection ; ' and, 
retumiing his thanks to the founder for his aftection to the order, gives 
him leave to choose brethren from any house in England for his priory. 
He ordained that the monks of Bretton, should hereafter enjoy the 
right of choosing their own superior,^ the prior of Pontefract being 
present at the election ; and that the prior so chosen should be in- 
stalled by the said prior of Pontefract, within three days after the 
election. It was also agreed, that the brethren detained in the foreign 
abbies as prisoners, should be liberated. The prior of Pontefract had 
a privilege granted him to sit in the chapter of Bretton, whenever he 

* Mon. Ang. torn i. p 652.-663. 
t Cop. cart. i. app. no. 5. 

t De lite inter priores et conventum de Pontfracto et Bretton'; super electione 
prioris de Bretton sententia definitiva paps terminata, 4 Ed. i. 
Prynne's Records m. 12. v. 2. p, 1215. 
Year Books 1, Ed. III. f; 42. 



304 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

deemed proper,* although the monks enjoyed, ever after, the whole 
internal management of their own house. 

The convent of Bretton then assigned over to the priory of Ponte- 
fract, for the payment of the nine marks, a mediety of the tithe of the 
corn, and the whole tithe of hay, in the village of Nottona ; also, five 
acres of meadow in Smyethall, and a rent charge of five shillings in 
Pontefract. 

The priory was surrendered by James Twayte, the last prior, and 
the convent, into the hands of the king, on the 23rd of November, 
A.D. 1539, in the 31st year of the reign of Henry VIII. and the 
statement of its yearly revenues is variously stated : — by Speed at 
472/. I6s. Id. ob. ; by Dugdale (p. 1045 j and Burnett in his history of 
reformation at 337/. \As. 8d. j by Tanner at 337/. j and by Leland and 
Stevens, at 323/. 8^. 2c?. 

It appears by the returas into the court of Augmentation, that the 
king gave to the prior, the deanery of St. Clement in the castle, with 
all its possessions, rights, tithes, and emoluments, during the term 
of his natural life ; and the site of the priory, with all the houses, 
buildings, gardens, orchards, and the demesne lands to the same be- 
longing, was let on a lease to Peter Mewtas, esq. at the annual rent of 
23l.l7s.Sd. 

The same gentleman held on lease the lands and tenements, in the 
town of Pontefract, which belonged to the said priory, at the annual 
rent of 61. lbs. od. ; and eighteen acres of arable land in Ferriefield 
(Ferrybridge Field), at 18*. per annum ; — as well as Darrington mill," 
belonging to the deanery, at 20*. per annum : — ^The whole amounting 
to the sum of 8/. 13^. 5d. Also for one messuage at Swineflete 40*. 
per annum ; and for the whole of the rectory of Pontefract, the sum of 
32/. 14*. Also for four acres and tv/o roods of land in Carlton, I2d, 
Also for the rents and farms of divers lands in Knottingley, the sum 
of II. 18 s. 7 d. 

The site of the priory, its demesne, tithes and emoluments, con- 
tinued to be farmed out on leases to difi'erent individuals, until the 
reign of Edward VI. ; when a grant was made of all the property, 
belonging to the priory within the township of Pontefract, to William 
lord Talbot, as appears from a grant in the court of exchequer. 
Thus, that property which had been accumulating for five centuries, 
and hitherto had been deemed so sacred, that almost to touch it was 
considered a crime of so great magnitude, as to expose the delinquent 
to all the thunders of the church and all the miseries of hell, was finally 
alienated. Pope Celestine exempted their ploughed lands held in the 

* Mon.Ang. i.-660. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 305 

possession of the priory and managed at the proper costs of the con- 
vent, from payment of tithes, and granted them right of sepultre 
within the priory * 

The following is an imperfect list of the lands, &c. (taken from 
Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum, torn 1,) which belonged to this 
house ; and such lands as are marked with an asterism, under the word , 
Pontefract, are what were conveyed to lard Talbot, and which have 
descended from him to the present possessor, lord Hare wood. 

ALTOFTS, one carucate of land here was given to the priory, by 
W. Folioth, and confirmed by the charter of Robert de Lascyf. 

BARNSLEY. This town was given- by Radolph de Csepricuritt, 
the proprietor, with the woods, meadows, mill, and rights, belonging 
to the same, on condition that the convent should appoint one monk to 
pray expressly for his mother, another for his sister, and a third for 
himself after his death. He also reserved to himself, the privilege of 
being admitted a member of the convent, in case he shauld request it ; 
and, according to the spirit of the age, he prays, that if any one should 
attempt to deprive the monks of this property, ' God ivould hlot him out 
ef the book of life.' His son confirmed the above grant, for which the 
convent gave him ten marks of silver, and promised to give annually 
pelliceam et hotas monachi, the black robe and the boots of the order. J 

The priory of Monk Bretton had some property here. On the 
12th of June, 1469, 9 Edward IV. Richard de Ledes the prior, and the 
convent, granted leave to those of Pontefract, to make a new mill-dam 
for a corn-mill, in the close called Le Manroid and Pageroid, lying on 
the south east part of, and adjoining to the bridge, for which the monks 
of Pontefract were to pay annually a rose, if demanded.§ 

BARNSETE, now called Barnsed, in a high and naked situation, 
contiguous to the moors of Yorkshire, belonged to this priory ; a 
circumstance which has given to a neighbouring house the name of 
Monkrode, upon the same estate. It was held under the priory for two 
or three generations by the Townleys.jl 

BEXALE, or Beale, Henry de Lascy granted the fishery here.^ 
BRACKENHILL. Robert de Lascy gave all-his lands here ; and 
Guy de la Val confirmed the same, specifying the quantity as being 
fourteen acres. 

BRETTON. See Lund. 

BROCTUNE, in the county of Cumberland. Alice de Runeville, 
gave a carucate of land here ; and a house in the same town,** where 
the monks might reside occasionally, when they went to receive their 

* Mon. Ang.651. tCh. Mon. t Tbid. § Burton's Mon. 9. U Whit^Whalley. 
f Ch. Mon. ** Barn and Nicholson's Cumberland, p* 72. v. 2. 



306 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

rents, or the produce of the land. She also- granted them, or those 
who held the land under them, all common rights and privileges which 
the town enjoyed. William de Fortihus, earl of Albemarle gave 
anather carucate of land here. 

BURNLEY. Guy de la Val gave the church here. 

CAEVVYK, oi- Catwick. By the advice and with the consent of 
Roger, archbishop of York, who was a great friend to the monks, Peter 
de Falkenberge, gave the mediety of the church of St. Michael here, 
9 Henry III. on the condition of his obit, and that of his wife being 
annually celebrated ; and that himself and his heirs should be admitted 
to tlie privileges of the house. Pope Celestine confirmed all donations 
at the same time vidth this grant in Catwyk, which was also confirmed 
by a Papal Bull. — Bullam p. Celestini. 

CASTLEFORD. Two mills were given here by Hugh de la Val ; 
which Henry de Lascy confirmed, and gave in addition the water be- 
tween the two mills and the ferry. W. Folioth gave here one carucate 
of land, lying before the castle. 

COLTHORN, or Cawthorn. See Silkstone. 

CL.ITHEROE. The church within the castle was given to the 
prioiy, as well as the church of St. Mary Magdalene, in the town, by 
the charter of Hugh de la Val ; with the tithes of all his lands there. 

COLNE. The church here with whatever belonged to it, the 
above Hugh-de la Val gave to this house, 

CRAVEN. In the first of Henry II. Alice de Romeley, daughter 
of Robert de Romeley, lord of Skipton in Craven, gave to these monks 
free chase in all her lands and woods within her fee, with liberty to 
hunt and take all manner of wild beasts there. Furthermore, she be- 
stowed on them the tenth of all the deer taken within her own lands 
and chase in Craven. Also a certain piece of ground in each of hei* 
lordships to make a grange for their tithes, with common of pasture for 
their cattle, together with her own, in all her woods, moors and fields, 
during the whole time of autumn. 

DARDINGTON, or Darrington. Robert de Lascy gave the church 
with all its privileges ; Hugh de la Val, during his temporary posses- 
sion of the estates of the Lascies, confirmed the above grant, exempting 
from the authority of the monks, one carucate of land, and an hospital 
for the sick and aged. Cartam Hugonis de la Val, confirm, donationes 
Rob.de Lasceio et aliorura. Henry de Lascy, by his chartei-s confirmed 
the above, with the chapel of Stapleton*. 

* Stapleton must have been, at this early period, a considerable village. It is un- 
certain at what time the chapel was destroyed. The village itself has given place to an 
elegant seat, late the property and residence of lord Stourton, who sold it to E. L» 
Hodgson, esq. and from whom it hath now devolved into the possession of the HOE* 
Edward Robert Petre. 



I 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 307 

DODWORTH. (DoDDEWORDA.) The founder of the priory, Rob. 
<de Lascy, gave the manor and all his land here, reserving to himself 
only the spernarii of a certain water. The boundaries are accurately 
defined. On one hand a certain valley separates it from Thurgoland 
and Stainburgh ; and on another a stream called Mervinbrook, which 
falls into the same valley. On the third side it is bounded by a place 
called Wolf-hole, and by another stream which runs through Heliley, 
and falls into the water which comes from Silkstone 5 and lastly, along 
the valley beyond a place called Huggesides, and following the water- 
course towards Barnsley, then turning along the hill called Ravenslou, 
which divides Dodworth from Beck. The above grant was made to 
supply food for their horses, and those of their friends. 

Two brothers of this place, Richard and William, sons of Ulf de 
Doddewrda, gave to the convent, for the love of God and the salvation 
of their own souls, all the men they had on the land, with all their 
houses and chattels for ever. How degraded wa.^ the state of these 
men, who could be transferred like cattle from one proprietor to 
another ! The love of God ought to have prompted these devotees 
rather to have given liberty to their villani, than to have transferred 
them to a convent. Such was then the state of society, and such then 
the spirit of the age. 

FAtRBURN. (Fairburna.) One Ada gave half an oxgang of 
land here, to supply the monks with bread and wine when they cele- 
brated mass, for the redemption of his own soul, and those of his wife, 
parents, and friends. 

FEREBY-SOUTH. (Suth Fereby,) in the county of Lincoln. 
Gilbert, earl of Lincoln, gave the passage or ferry here, and three 
oxgangs and a half of land, with fourteen mansions, reserving to him- 
self the annual payment of six pounds. In a contest between him and 
Henry Lascy, he had injured the monks, and trampled on the sacred 
rights of the church. Conscious that he had been guilty of a great 
crime, he made a vow to bestow the above mentioned property, either 
to purchase for them a lamp, or to supply them with oil to keep one 
continually burning, 

FERRYBRIDGE. (FeriaJ Jordan de Sancta Maria gave all his 
meadow in this territory. The boundaries are defined, but owing to 
the division of fields, it is perhaps now nearly impossible to ascertain 
it. One head was above Longlathes, and stretched to the Aire. Another 
towards Haliwell, was beyond the stream which comes from Pontefract, 
between the meadow belonging to the abbey of Fountaines on the 
north, and Ferrybridge Field on the south. Another part joined the 
meadow belonging the hospital of Fulsnaph, and the last a field belong- 
ing to Robert de Hickleton. 



308 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

FRYSTONE. The same Jordan gave the Foredales, or headlands 
of a meadow here, which joined the stream that divides this township 
from Ferrybridge. 

FOXHOLES, H. de la Val gave six oxgangs of land here. As this 
is noticed after Dodvvorth, it is probable it lay there. See Dodworth. 
FEATHERSTONE, See WMtwood. 

INGOLVESMELLES. Alice de Gaunt gave (l)y her charter,) one 
carucate of land here, which had been given to her as her dowry by 
Ilbert de Lascy. It was confirmed by Roger de Molbrai, her second 
husband, who also gave another. Cartas Alicise de Gaunt et Rogeri 
Molbrai de caracuta terrae in Ingolvesmeles, p. 655. 

KESWICK, in the county of Cumberland. Simon de Mohawt 
gave two oxgangs of land here, consisting of twenty acres, together 
with a toft and one acre in the same town, with all rights and privileges 
thereto belonging, on condition of enjoying the prayers of the house, 
and liberty to become a brother when he should demand it. 

KELLINGLEY. Henry de Lascy gave this whole \dllage, with 
all the laud from Knottingley on one hand, and Beale on the other, to 
the priory. The boundary on the side of Knottingley is said to he a 
ditch called Post Leiesic. 

KIPPAX. H^ de la Val granted the church here, the tithes, and 
whatever belonged the same. Henry de Lascy confirmed this grant. 
In registro Bowett. archiepisc. Ebor. f. ordinationem vicariae de Kippax 
appropriatas huic prioratui A.D. 1410, ad regatum R. Henrici funda- 
toris ratione ducatus sui Lancastr. 
KIRKBY. See Pontefract. 

KIMBERWORTH, near Rotherham. One John de Builli gave 
half an acre and a toft here.* 

LEDESHAM. One half of this village was given by Robert de 
Lascy, together with the church, which was confirmed by the charter 
of Henry de Lascy.t 

LEDSTON. Robert de Lascy gave the whole of his land her^, 
which grant was confirmed by Henry de Lascy. 

LUND, or Monk-Bretton. Lands had been left here to the priory. 
On some account a contest arose respecting these lands between the 
priories of Pontefract and Bretton ; and the affair was put to reference. 
William Bradford and Robert Chaloner, referees, on the 12th of June, 
A.D. 1469, 9 Edward IV. decided that the convent of Monk-Bretton 
should have the lands in question in this place : they paying to Rich. 
Browne, prior, and the convent of Pontefract, fifty-five marks. :t 

* Fad Thoresby. Cartam Johannis de Builli, de dimia, acrae et tofto in king ber- 
'Turdia ex oric. penes Rad Thoresby. — Lei. Col. v. i. p. 54, ejusdem Itin. v. i. p. 41.^. 
•*• Tannet'i .V. i Reg. de Monk-Bretton, f. 25. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 309 

MEER, or Maram. See Whitwood. 

MINSTHORP. See Silkstone. 

NORTON. Jordon, son of William Foliot, with the consent of 
Beatrice his wife, bestowed on the monks of Pontefract, a certain toft 
with a mill, and an acre of land between the mill and a garden near to 
the road, on the north, with the soke and suit of the said mill, paying 
to the chaplain of Norton one mark of silver annually, on the feast of 
St. Dionisius. He also confirmed to them the grant of one carucate of 
land in Baghill, which William his father had given them*. 

PONTEFRACT. Robert de Lascy gave the ground on which the 
priory was erected, and the closes around, which in the charter of de 
la Val are estimated at seven acres. 

ALL-SAINT'S CHURCH was granted by the said Robert. 

St. MARY'S CHURCH, now called St. Giles', in the market-place, 
was also granted by H . de la Val, v/ho confirmed at the same time, all 
the former donations granted to the priory. One half of this church 
had been given by Ilbert de Lascy to the canons of St. Oswald, but 
archbishop Thurston granted de la Val permission to bestow it wholly 
on this convent. 

* Arable lands in the Common-Fields, amounting to twenty-one 
acres, were enjoyed by the monks. 

* Bayliff-Yard, fi small close mentioned among the lands granted 
to lord Talbot. 

* Carter Closes mentioned in the same grant, and estimated at 
twenty-four acres. 

* East Field, and a part of Darrington field, also mentioned, es- 
timated at sixty-two acres and a half. 

* Gallows-Hill Close, of which no estimation is given. 

* Hudercroft, containing by estimation six acres. 

* Kellingley, containing by estimation twelve acres. 

* Neux- Close, containing six acres. 

* North-Field, containing sixty-one acres and a half. 

* Spittle- Close, no estimation. 

* Vestry-Close, containing ten acres. 

* JVattjiat and TVatfall Closes, containing six acres and a half. 

* TVell- Close, near Milldam, containing one acre and a half. 

St. NICHOLAS' HOSPITAL. The custody of this, for the uses 
intended, was given to the priory by its founder, Robert de Lascy, and 
confirmed by de la Val and Henry de Lascy. 

St. CLEMENT'S CHURCH, in the castle. Robert de Lascy gave 

* Mon. Ang.— This caracute is most pro1)ably the closes called in Talbot's grant, 
BaehiU-field, or Burton Flat and Bene Flat, and Baghill and Flaghill, which are there 

pstlmattd at fifty-four acres. 



310 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

this also to the convent, expressing in the strongest terms that it 
should not be hereafter given to any other house. 

WEST-MILL, he also granted for the use of the priory. 

EAST-MILL was granted by Henry de Lascy,* and sixty shillings 
annually to be paid by his bailiflf, thirty at Easter, and thirty at 
Michaelmas.t 

The convent had a turvery in the park. Their rjght to a road 
here seems to have been disputed, and to settle which they entered 
into an agreement with one John Scot, to have a free passage to the 
said turvery, through the land of the said John Scot, in Haliwell. J 

Houses and lands in the town were given through the piety and 
zeal of several of its inhabitants to the priory. They enjoyed twenty 
acres of pasture within the park of Pontefract, which were taken from 
the priory about the 10th of Edward IV. but by due course of law, had 
them restored. II 

In the fines of Yorkshire, they paid for two houses and thirty- 
eight acres of land in Pontefract.§ 

PECKFIELD. The convent enjoyed some land here, de commun. 
pastur, de Peckfield, as an agreement was entered into between the 
convent and Hubertus and Gaufridus, sons of W. de Boelter, concerning 
the middle part of Peckfield.^ 

QUELDALE, or Weldale. See Whitwood. 

ROTHERHAM. The convent enjoyed some land here, in the 
reign of Richard II.** 

RUGHALA, or Raul. Henry de Lascy granted two oxgangs of 
land here. 

RANGBROOKE. See Silkstone. 

STAPLETON. See Darrington. 

SLADEBURN, in Craven. De la Val gave this church, with the 
lands and chapels thereto belonging. Henry de Lascy confirmed the 
grant. After this grant, the prior and convent presented the first six 
rectors ; and enjoyed undisturbed whatever belonged to it. John of 

* They are called the East and West Mills in reference to the situation of each 
other, and not with respect to the town. Tlie east Mill is that iisually called Bondgate 
Mill; and the west is that under the castle. Robert gave this latter in his first charter, 
and it was contained within the clausum, and formed the boundery of the south and 
west angle 

t Trifling as this sum may now appear, it will be considerable if the comparative 
value of money may be recollected. According to some authors, a shilling then, was 
worth a pound now. 

X Vid. App. ad Stevensie, V. ii. p. 219. Conventionem inter priorem et conv.de 
Pontefracto et Joannem Scot, de transitu, super terra dicta Joannis in Haliwell, ad 
turbariam diet, prioris et conv. ex orig. penes. Walt. Calverley, Bar. This appears to 
warrant the observation, that no coal mines had been opened in this part of the country 
as late as the fourteenth century, but that turf and wood were the fuel commonly used. 

II Vid. Beb. Harleiana. mo. 433, p. 121. In Talbot's grant, the Park Close is estim- 
ated at twenty-two acres. 

^ Tanner's N. f Tanner'i N.. 

** Pat. 13. Trin. Rot. 22d. Richard II. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 311 

Gaunt deprived the house of this part of their property, nor could they 
ever recover it. The convent however, made the attempt, and assigned 
the advowson of the church to Booth and Byron, who gave it to the 
church of St. Catherine of Eccles. Though this gift was confirmed hy 
a Papal Bull, the crown disregarded it and kept possession*. 

SILKSTONE. Swain, fil Alricis, gave the church here, with six 
oxgangs of land lying near to it, and the chapels, lands and tithes, and 
whatever belonged thereto. His son, Ada, confirmed the above, car- 
tam Adae fil Swani pro eccl. de Silkstone, as well as the grant of the 
chapel of Cawthorn, with 60 acres of land in the same village ; which 
was also confirmed by Clement de Longvillers and Robert de Mont 
Begonis cartas Clementiae de Longvillers et Robert de Mont Begonis 
confirm, eccl. de Silkstone, and tithe corn of all his demesnes, in Caw- 
thorn, Kexburght, Gunultwayt, Penyingstone, Wyrksburgh, Carlton, 
Newhall, Brerely, Walton, Manesthorpe, Wrangbruk, Middleton, Gar- 
burum et cum omnibus ad eas pertinentibus. 

SMITHELES. CSmethala.^ John Fitz Adam gave 13 acres of 
meadow here, and two oaks in his wood of Byrkin, and one buck an- 
nually, out of his park, at the feast of St. John. 

STAINBURGH. (Stainburch. ; Adam Fitz Petre, gave the 
moiety of his mill here ; and his bx'other John Fitz Adam gave the other, 

SWINEFLEET. Here was a house belonging to the priory, 
which at the dissolution was let for forty shillings per annum.f 

THORPE. Henry de Lascy gave two oxgangs of land here, con- 
firming all the donations before granted. 

WITEWDE, or Whitwood. Robert de Lascy gave all his lands here 
and at Maram or Meer, to the priory, with all common rights and pri- 
vileges. Also, the fishery from Whitwood to Queldala, or Weldale. 
The cannons of St. Oswald, or Nostel, possessed in Whitwood and 
Meer, thirty acres of arable land ; and the tithe of hay in other fifteen 
acres, which they exchanged with the prior and convent of Pontefract, 
saving the rights of the churches of Featherstone and Castleford, for 
two parts of their corn tithes in Brerely, Maynesthorp and Wrang- 
bruck, which they enjoyed from the grant of Adam Fitz Swain, and 
which belonged to the church of Silkstone, though within the parishes 
of Felkyrk and South kyrkby. 

WHALLEY (Walleya) in the Hundred of Blackburn, in Lanca- 
shire. The church was given by H. de la Val, Historiam de eccl. de 
Walleya cujus advocatio donata fuit huic prioratui per Hugonum de la 
Val, but was not confirmed by Robert de Lascy, or any of his successors, 

* Whit. Craven. 

t Return of Rents in the Court of Augmentation, 



312 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Being a place at that time of little importance, the prior and convent 
here continued to enjoy the patronage, and successively presented 
four vicars. When the Lascy fee came to the constables of Chester, 
they claimed the advowson of this church, and afterwards conferred it 
on the abbey of Whalley". The prior and convent of Pontefract de- 
fended their right, but were altogether unsuccessful. According to the 
law which then obtained, any grants made by the possessor of a fee, 
when the lord of such fee was under an attainder, in case the attainder 
was reversed, were deemed invallid, unless the lord confirmed the 
grant. On this principle, the claim of the convent was rejected. Wm. 
Maltravers also granted one mark annually. Cartam Will. Maltravers 
de i mai'C annuatim pro eccl. de Walleya. 

LIST OF PRIORS. 

Temp. Con&rm. Priori loci. 

Adam, once prior of Arden, in the deaner^• and archdeaconry of 
Cleveland. Reg de Monk-Bretton, M. A.'652, et variis in locis 
in eodem libro. — Cop. cart v. 6. p. iii, 
Oliver Daincourt, 
126— Godefridus, 
2 Id. May, 1311 Jurnhardus de Cherlej'-, 
145— Nic. Halle, 

Johannes Flynt, 
R. Browne, 
James Twaytes. 

ALTAR CONSECRATED. 

27th Martii, A.D. 1352. 
A commission was granted to John, bishop of Philippi, to conse- 
crate a certain altar within the conventual church of the priory of 
Pontfract, lately erected on the south side thereof. 

TESTAMENTARY BURIALS. 

August 13, 1391. William de Bayley made his will, (proved Oct. 
20,1391,) giving his soul to God almighty, St. Mary and All-Saints, 
and his body to be buried before the altar of St. Benedict, in the mon- 
astery of St. John, apostle and evangelist, of Pontfract. 

Jan. 6, 1435. John Autee, rector of the parish church of Castle- 
ford, made his will, (proved Jan. 20, 1435,) giving his soul Cut supra; 
and his body to be buried in the monastery of St. John, the apostle and 
evangelist, of Pontfract. 

Archbishop Thurston, who resigned his bishoprick, Jan, 15, 1143, 
on account of old age, and who became a monk in this monastery, died 
in the month of February following, and was buried in the church of 
St. John the evangelist. Goodwin informs us, he made a search for his 
grave near a place in the wall, on the south side of the choir of this 
church, then in ruins, but instead of the prelate, found a vast number 
of human skulls and bones, all regularly piled up, and laid in admirable 



HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT. 313 

order. A pious action of the monks, which has been met with in the 
ruins of several monasteries in this kingdom. The life of this prelate 
was written by two monks of this priory ; the manuscript copy of it is 
in the Cotton library, but something damaged by the fire. 



COLLEGE AND HOSPITAL OF St. NICHOLAS. 

At what period this hospital and college were erected is uncertain. 
In the charter of James I. they are stated to have been founded by a 
certain abbot of the monastery of St. Oswald ; and Leland says, that a 
college and hospital existed here, anterior to the conquest ;* yet 
Tanner thinks the present buildings are of too modern a foundation^ 
to be the same, although they may have been erected on the site of 
the old buildings. On a stone over one of the windows in the front of 
the building is thus written : — 

* This saint Nicholes Hospitall was bvlded by Thomas Sayle of 
Pontefract, tallow chanler, deseased, in the year 1 673.' 

Robert de Lascy, usually styled Robert de Pontfract, was a con- 
siderable benefactor to the hospital in the commencement of the reign 
of Henry I. and by some writers considered to be the founder of it ; 
yet it is very clear that it was the habitation of the Black Monks 
Cluniacenses, who were brought here in the reign of William II. and 
were resident in this hospital until the priory which was then building, 
was fit for their reception ;t and, as soon as they entered the priory, 
Robert converted it into an hospital, dedicated it to St. Nicholas, and 
granted its government to the monks. 

Henry de Lascy, son of Robert, confirmed the grant to the priory, 
for the use of the poor ; and granted to the monks, who sTiould have 
the custody of it, one mark of silver, twelve hopes of bread corn, 
twenty-four of oats, and clothing yearly, on the feast of St. Martin. || 

Robert Wodehouse, the keeper of this hospital, 8 Ed. I. obtained 
a grant of free warren in their lands within this territory, which privi- 
lege was afterwards given to the canons of St. Oswald, at Nostall. 

In the 30 Ed. III. Henry duke of Lancaster granted^ the gift of a 
certain livery to the two recluses in the house of St. Helen, in Ponte- 
fract, called the Blanch Liveries, which belonged to his donation as 
lord of the honour of Pontefract, to be paid daily out of this hospital 

* Pat. 51, Hen. III. n. 13, Rex concessit Antonio Bek prsebendam quam Reismun- 
dus habuit in ecclesia de Pontefracto. 

t Tanner's Monasticon> Yorkshire, f. 96. 
t Leland's Itin. i. p. M, 42. 
11 Dugdale's Men, Ang. 650. 

RR 



314 HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT. 

for the finding of a priest to celebrate divine service in the cliapel of 
St. Helen, for ever.* 

In the 1/th Henry VI. 1438, the king by letters patent, gave this 
hospital to the piior of St. Oswald, at Nostall, with, the advowson and 
all the estates thereto belonging, amounting to 971. I3s. lOd. per ann.f 
to be converted to their own use, the canons paying out of the profits 
thereof, to the king and his heirs as dukes of Lancaster, 20 marks per 
annum ; and on the 16th November, 1441, this grant of royal patronage 
was confiimed by parliament. 

The canons maintained here, till the dissolution of religious houses, 
a chaplain and thirteen poor people, and had for that purpose the whole 
estate of the hospital, which although it was valued in MS. Valor. INIon. 
St. Oswald! at 971. 13s. lOd. yet in Stevens' Supplement, i. p. 68, it is 
only valued at 16/. 2s. 4 J in the archbishop's certificate. 

A CATALOGUE OF 

THE WARDENS OF THIS HOSPITAL. 

Temp. Instit. Magistri Hosp. Patroni. Vacat. 

Dns. Tho. Tawton, Prior et Conv. Prioris, p. mort. 

10 May, 1435, Dns. Will. Bothe, CI. Rex H. 4 

Dns. Tho. Toveton, 
M. Will. Bothe. 

After the dissolution of religious houses by Henry VIII. this place 
seems to have been wholly neglected, and its purposes and institution 
miuch perverted and abused, which caused the corporation to endea- 
vour to obtain powers for its better government and regulation, and in 
the charter granted by James, A.D. 1605, (see charterj, there is a 
clause for vesting it in the corporation. 

A deed is deposited in the To^vn's Box, dated Sept. 19, 1650, of a 
purchase of Mr. T. Cook, and twenty-four other gentleman appointed 
trustees by act of parliament for selling the fee-farm rents belonging 
to the commonwealth of England, formerly payable to the crown of 
England, dutchy of Lancaster, and dutchy of Cornwall, or any five or 
more of them on one part, and Matthew Frank, Robert Frank, John 
Scure, John Ramsden, John Cooper, Edward Field, Leonard Ward, and 
Christopher Long, comburgesses of the borough of Pontefract, and 



* It appears from what Dugdale has related, that the house dedicated to St. Helen, 
was the only habitation of two recluses. Tradition has not even conveyed the name of 
this house, much less the particular spot where it stood, down to posterity. Two closes 
in the commission of inquiry lespecting the tithes belonging the deanery, made in the 
reign of Henrj' VIII. are called St. Helen's Flats, and appear from the boundaries speci- 
fied, to join the township of Darrington. Was the habitation of the recluses situated 
here ? This is not improbable and will account for the name imposed on these flats. 

7 MS. valor, mon. St. Oswald. — Vide in IMS. Reg. Dods. vol cx%i. f. 19. vol cxviii. 
f. 153. Notes from the coucher book of the hospital of St. Nicholas, in Pontefract, in 
the keeping of Mr. Skipton, an alderman of the said town.— Pat. Ed. III. pat. m. 36. 
Pat. ll. Henrj' IV. p. 4, m. 16. Pat 13. Henry IV. p. 1 m. 1. pro eccl. de Gosberkirk et 
Wath accipiendis pro maner de Methley. Pat 16 Henrj' VI. p. 2 m. 11 pro unione ad 
pri'Tatum Sancti Oswaldi. Rot. pari, 18 Henry VI. n. 23. 



5 








14 13 


4 


4 









HISTOHY OF PONTEFRACt. 315 

William Gates, of the said town, gentleman, on the other part ; for 
various fee-farm rents, payable for divers lands and houses out of the 
manors of Wintersett, Crofton, and West Hardwick, with all their 
rights, members, and appurtenances sometime belonging to the mon- 
astery of St. Oswald, at Nostall ; and all that tenement called Santing- 
ley Grange, &c. and all other lands and tenements, meadows, fields, 
and pastures belonging or appertaining to the said monastery of St. 
Oswald of Nostall. Also, all that rectory church of Clifton, with all 
the tithes of hay, grain, pullets, eggs, hens, and ducks, in Clifton, 
aforesaid; also, all the tithes of grain of Hardwick Roods, belonging 
to and being a parcel of the rectory ot Pontefract, «&c. for the considera- 
tion of 812^. 17*. S^d. to the uses and purposes following : — ■ 

To the curate of ihe hospital, 

To 11 poor people in the hospital at 26s. 8d, each. 
To 2 servants to attend poor people, 

23 13 4 

which was to be paid yearly by the deputy receiver of the audit money 

due to liis majesty.' 

Mr Benjamin Day had 10?. belonging to this hospital, the interest 
of which was paid half yearly, at Christmas and Lammas, until Mr, 
Wm. Horncastle expended the principal in its repairs. 

Mr. Wm. Moxon and Mr. Wm. Needham rented a garden near 
the castle, lying at the back of the hospital, and two other parcels of 
ground situated east of John Clarkson's garden and still house, near 
castle cottage, at 21. 19s. Od. per annum, due half yearly, at 
Candlemas and Lammas, on lease, (not yet signed^ for 3 1 years ; and 
a foregift of 41. 4s. Od. was paid for the same, that it should be free from 
all assessments daring the term of the said lease. Matthew Hutchin- 
son now has it at the annual rent of 3/. 3*. Od. 

Mr. Edward Holcotts gave the yearly sum of 20*. to be paid out of 
the rents and profits of a close in Bailey Gate, belonging to Mr. R. 
Saltonstall. It is paid every old Christmas Day to the vicar, church- 
wardens, and overseers of Pontefract, who are appointed trustees.* 

Mr Peter Dunhill rented eight half acres of land belonging to the 
hospital, lying in Ferrybridge field, with a stone at the end of each 
marked N, H. at U. 6*. 8d. per ann. due at Martinmas Day. 

Also a reserved rent of 15.?. per ann. was paid by the vicar, out of 
the rents and profits of a close in Darrington, late part of the west field. 
This close was afterwards exchanged for a house near St. Giles' chapel, 
which was pulled down in J 739. The exchange was made between 
the Rev. Mr. Sturdy and the Rev. Mr. Drake.f 

* Fid. Deed dated 19th September, IC>M), in Town's Box. 
t Vid. Deed in Town's Box, dated 22nd June, 1739. 



3i.6 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT, 

Mr. Nicholas Stables, late alderman of Pontefi-act, by his last will 
and testament dated 29th December, 1671, did devise unto the poor of 
St. Nicholas Hospital 1?. 10*. Od. yearly, to be paid out of the tithes 
of Blind Hardwicke every Christmas eve for ever. And whereas, Mr. 
William Stables, late of Pontefract, by his last will and testament dated 
Mth of Febriiaiy, 1704, did devise to the poor of St. Nicholas Hospital 
J I. per ann. to be paid them every Christmas eve for ever out of the 
above tithes of Blind Hardwick. 

And whereas, Mr. William Stables has some time since sold the 
said tithes to lord Galway and his heirs, and did covenant that the said 
tithes should be free of the above incumbrances, and in lieu and full 
satisfaction of the said sum of 21. 10s. Od. payable out of Blind Hard- 
wicke tithes, hath granted and confirmed to the mayor, aldermen and 
burgesses, and their successors, by a deed dated 4th April, 1748, one 
annual and yearly rent of 2/. 10^. Od. to be issuing and payable out of 
certain closes called Baghill closes in Pontefract, free from all deduc- 
tions and abatements whatsoever, to the mayor, aldermen, and burges- 
ses, and their successors to take the said annual rent of 21. 10s. Od. in 
trust for the use of the poor in St. Nicholas hospital. Nevertheless for 
the failure of the payment thereof at Christmas, they shall have pow^r 
to make distress upon the premises of the same. 

There is a deed in the town's box, ordering Mr. N. Stable's dona- 
tion of 30*. and W. Saltonstall's donation of 17. to be paid out of the 
rents and profits of Baghill closes every Christmas eve for ever. The 
mayor for the time being, and the aldermen are trustees. 

On the 8th June, 1673, during the mayoralty of John Frank, esq. 
Mr. Thomas Sayle, of Pontefract, chandler, by his last will and testa- 
ment, amongst divers other legacies, left 100/. towards re-building and 
re-edifying the hospital, which a short time afterwards was carried 
into eiFect. 

In the 3^ear 1701, at a public meeting of the town convened, it was 
ordered that the poor people elected into any of the hospitals, should 
reside in them within the month succeeding their election, or forfeit 
the pay due to them from the hospital ; and which pay is ordered to be 
divided equally amongst the poor then residing therein. 

In the year 1735, 27th October, a general and public meeting of the 
inhabitants ordered that amongst other public places to be repaired, the 
almshouse of St Nicholas should be repaired at the expense of the town. 

In 1762, the following persons were elected into this hospital : — 

Oliver Johnson, Thomas 'Bulmer, 

William Winfield, David Ellis, 

Robert Sykes, Ann Petty, 

Barrack Smyth, Elizabeth Parker, 

Margaret Doughtj', Amlygott Smyth, Servt, 

Martha Scholcy, ]VIary Schofield, Servt. 



HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT. 317 

In the year 1762, in the month of April, Mr. William Perfect, 
alderman, at his own cost and expense, repaired this hospital, at the 
charge of 40?. 

THE 

ALMS-HOUSE AND COLLEGE OF SIR ROBERT KNOLLES. 

This hospital stands on the north side of the great street of Ponte- 
fract, called Micklegate. The houses to the street which bound the 
side of it are built with uniformity ; whilst on the north, it is enclosed 
with large stone walls. Within the square, which is entered to on the 
south by a gatehouse of wood, are a church, a hall or chapel, and many 
mansions for the poor. 

It was founded about the 4th of October, in the 8th year of the 
reign of Richard II.* A.D. 1385, by sir Robert Knolles, knight, a gentle- 
man born in Cheshire, whose heroic deeds and genuine piety glow in 
the brilliant page of history .f 

* Mon. Ang. ii. 473. 

t The family of Knolles is of Saxon origin, and the name is derived from the term 
kiwll, a hill where some of the race resided. Of sir Robt's. ancestors, authors greatly vary 
in their accoimts. Hollingshed says, ' that he was not descended of anie high linage, but 
borne in the conntie of Chester of meane offspring, neurtheless through his valiante 
prowesse, and good seruice in warre, growne to such estimation, as he was reported 
worthie of alle honor due to a noble and skilfull warriour;' and Speed in his history of 
Britain, says, that ' martial uertue had raised him from the lowest rancke to the higheste 
reputation, (though some affirme him borne noble. Paul. Aemyl. in Char. 5.') p. 704. 16. 

In 1358, he with Hugh de Calverley and a select multitude, attended prince Ed- 
ward against the bastard of Spain. The troops commanded by the duke of Lancaster 
and the lord Chandois, being engaged with the enemy first, the stress of the battle fell 
upon them, when sir Robert Knolles perceiving the tug of war to be severe, animating 
his troops, rushed forward to the conflict, and like a bursting torrent swept along the 
lines. The troops of the duke were encouraged and animated, and renewed the figlit 
witli increased ardor; the adverse squadrons were daunted and fell into disorder, the 
Spaniards retreated,- and the Saracens fell rushing to hell by hundreds. — Tho. de Wal- 
singham. 

He dealt such destrviction in France, that for years afterwards, the remnants of 
overthrown houses and monasteries, cloven asunder by his instrtiments of war, were 
called Knolles' mitres. The French called him ' Le veritable demon de guerre,^ or the 
true thunderbolt of war. 

In 1370, about the nativity of St. John the Baptist, king Edward gathered a great 
army of the most able and expert which could be found in his kingdom, amongst whonv 
were tlie lords de Graunson, lord Fitzwalter, sir Alaine Burhill, sir John Bourchier, sir 
William Merille, sir Godfrey Wom-sley, and others ; and over these he appointed sir 
Robert Knolles, leader, virmn providam et audacem qui bella transmarina Iraclavei-at per annos 
multoties gloriosa, hy whose industry and discretion the king would have them wholly 
governed, and obey him in all things. But after he was passed into France, one sir John 
Mensterworth instigated the lords against him, shewing them -vlvhat disgrace it was to be 
commanded by a person of meaner rank, calling him vespilionem veterem, old batt, so 
that they disobeyed his orders, and divided themselves in many companies seeking 
places to winter in France, but sir Robert went to Brittany, and contained himself in 
his castle ; and the French commanded by Bertram Glenquin, fell upon the divided 
Englisli when they had not prepared for the defensive, and took and destroyed most of 
them. Mensterworth escaping, accused sir Robert to the king, so that he durst not 
return into England, until he had obtained the king's favour. Mensterworth was 
afterwards beheaded for traitorous principles and his head placed on London Bridge. 

About the middle of the fourteenth century, in the reign of Edward III. a singular 
instance occurred of the prevalence of chivalry and gallantry, in which sir Robert 
Knowles was engaged. ' A solemn duel of thirteen knights against thirty was fought 
between Bembrough, an Englishman, and Beaumanoir, a Briton, of the party of Clias. 
ofBlois. The kniglrts of the two nations came into the tield ; and before the combat 
began, Beaumanoir called out, that it would be seen that day, who had the fairest mis- 
tresses. After a bloody combat, the Britons prevailed, and gained for their prize full 
liberty to boast of the beauty of their mistresses. It is i-emarkable, l-hat two such famous 
generals as sir Robert Knowlis and sir Hugh Calverley diew their swords in this ridicu- 
lous contest.— Pere Daniel and Knyghton. 



3J8 HISTORY OF PONTEFRAGT. 

Leland states, that * syr Roberte was ons myndid to have made 
thys college at hys nianour of Skouthorpe, (Skoulthorpe,) three miles 
distant from Walsingham ; but, at the desier of Constance, hys wife, a 
woman of mene birth, and sumtyme of a dissolute livinge afore marri- 
age, he turnid hys purpose, and made yt in the very place of Pontfract, 
wher hys wife was born, endowing the college with ISOli land by the 
yere.* 

On the 20th of April, A.D. 1385, king Richard II. in the 8th year 
of his reign, granted his royal licence to sir Robert Knolles to found 
the college and almshouse ; and on the 4th of October in the same 
year, he and Constance his wife, by virtue of the said king's licence, and 
the licence of John, king of Castile, and duke of Lancaster, lords of the 
soil, purchased of Thomas Schirwynd, one messuage in the parish of 
Pontefract, in which the said collegiate house was built, and ordained, 
to the honour of St. Trinity, and the chantry (vulgarly called Knolles' 
almshouse) ; in which chapel he willed and ordained, that there be 

In 1378, he had the custody of the castle of Brest, and took eighty prisoners in 
skirmishes, and in the same year he together with the earl of Buckingham, the duke of 
Brittany, the lords Latimer and Fitzwalter, went forth with a great navy to intercept 
the Spanish fleet, which had sailed for Sluse in Flanders, but they were driven home by 
a raging tempest. — Holl. Chron. ii. 418. In 1380, he passed over into France, to aid the 
duke of Brittany, commander of a large army, amongst whom were Thomas of Wood- 
stock, earl of Buckingham, the king's tmclef the lord Thomas Percy, brother of Henry 
earl of Northumberland, the lord Hugh Calverley, lord Bassett, lord John de Harleton, 
and lord William de Windeson, all men quibus siiigulis merito exercitatvs qiiisque ccmmiti 
posset, pro sapientiafortitudine et arte bellandi. In 1381, when the noble William Walworth, 
lord mayor of London, had arrested Wat Tyler, all were in fear that the rabble would 
have murdered king Eicliard, when he with a chosen troop of warriors, reduced them to 
obedience. In 1384, he appeased a civil tumult in London, and brought a shoemaker, 
the animater of the disturbance, to the gallows. 

He was made seneschall of Guienne by Edward, and assisted John de Montfort, in 
the dutchy of Bretagne. He was afterwards appointed lieutenant of Bretagne, and was 
rewarded for his services by the grant of a fine estate in thedutchy, by Montfort. He 
assisted the Black Prince in the conquest of Aquitain ; and lastly joined the prince of 
Angaulesme, and drove the French to the gates of Paris. He was honoored with the 
garter by Richard II. and shortly afterwards retired into privacy to his family residence. 
In 14U7, this great commander, good patriot, charitable person, then governor of 
Aquitain, died about the feast of the assumption of our lady ; having been as eminent 
in works of piety, as he had been famous for his conduct, in the prince of his age ; and 
afterwards being desirous to be beloved of his country, as he was feared abroad, he built 
part of a goodly bridge at Rochester, over the river IMedway, and a chapel and chantiy 
at tlie end of it. As well as founding the college and hospital in Pontefract, he built an 
hospital in the city of Rome, for English travellers and pilgrims, in the place where 
Tlromas a Beckett had built a chapel of the Holy Trinity, which vet retains the name. 
He died at his manor of Scoulthorpe, on the 15th of August, A.D. 1407, at the advanced 
age of 90 years, and was ' broughte to London ii\ a litter, withe grete pompe and moch 
torche lighte, and was buried in the church of white freres in fleetstreet, bj' the lady 
Constance his wife, wher was doone for him a solemn obsequie, with a great feast and 
a liberal dole to the poore.' — Vide Hoi. Chron. ii.404, et seq. 

Of his death, &c. Walsingham thus writes: — ' Circa festum assumptionis beatae 
virginis, Dominus Robertus Knolles diem clausit extremum, Cuujs arma regnum 
franciae sensit, et expavit infesta ducatus Britanniae; verebatur Armoricse atq. pertimuit 
gens citerioris Hispaniae. Qui praeter laudem quam sibi peperit in gestis martiis con- 
struxit pontem ultra flumen de Medeway, juxta Roffam, provexitque domum fratrum 
Carmelitarum Londoniis, fundavitq. collegium secularium clericorum apud pontem 
fractum, it alia multa laudiabilia consummavit.' 

In the chronicle of Kirkstall, these verses unworthy of so great a name are recited, 
which are very likely those translated by Stowe, and noted by Weaver, 

O ! Roberte Knolles ; per te fit Francia mollis, 

Ense tuo tollis praeda dans vulnera collis. — 

O ! Robert Knolles ! most worthy of fame, 

By thy prowess France was made tame ; 

Thy manhood made the French to yield. 

By dint of sword in town and field. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 319 

perpetually seven chaplains,* whereof one to be called master or custos 
of the said house, two clerks, and 13 poor feeble people of both sexes, 
and two servitors.f The said chaplains and clerks to be continually in 
divine office, serving God.' 

* Hugh, son of William Schirwynd quit claims to Robert Knolles 
and Constance his wife, all that tenement in the great street of Ponte- 
tefract, lying betwixt the messuage of Robert Green on the east, and 
Gilbert Perckyver on the west, which Adam de Schirwynd lately had 
of the feoffment of Robert Silkston, clerk, 1383.' 

* Robert Knolles, knight, gives custodie et capellanus, domus et 
coUegii vel cantariae in Pontefracto, vocat Knolles' almshouse, et in 
quo tenemento praedicta domus sancto trinitat. situata est. Dated at 
Pontefract, 1387, lib. St. Trin. folio 12. 6.' 

In the 13th year of the reign of Richard II. it was styled an incor- 
porated college ; and Henry archbishop of York confirmed the 
donation, ' That the said Robert Knolles and Constance late his wife, 
now deceased, whilst living founded out of the goods given them by 
God, a certain college of seven chaplains, whereof one to be the master 
or keeper of the said house, and two clerks and a certain house for 
thirteen poor, and two servants, and under a certain form of ordina- 
tion, &c.' 

* Therefore, the said Robert Knolles, first as to that clause wherein 
he ordains that the said house have one chest, locked with two keys, 
in which the treasure, ornaments, and plate of the said house shall be 
kept, wills it to be kept under two keys whereof the prior of St. Os- 
wald, for the time being, shall have one, and the master of the said 
house, the other ; and that the said chest be not opened without the 
consent of the said prior, — Item, that the master shall have one seal 
deputed for his office, with a rose and the image of the Holy Trinity, 
and that the same seal shall be kept in the same chest, and with which 
seal they shall lease out their rents, &c. so as there be no alienation of 
the immoveable goods of the said house by the prior and master, unless 
upon cause of exchange.' 

* I, the said Robert Knolles, will, &c. that the masters and chap- 
lains of the said house have a seal with a rose and the image of the 
Holy Trinity, and that they keep the said seal locked within a chest of 
three locks, and I will, that all pensations of the same house, concern- 
ing the profits of the said house, and exchanges be first authorized by 
the said prior.' 



* Leland i. p. 34. 

t Dugdale's Monas, 4. 106, so the charter states, but Leland ii. 33 saith 13 poor men 
avid women. 



320 HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT^ 

* I will also, that if any cause for the necessitj' or evident utiltitj' of 
the said house ; the said prior by himself, or some other in his name 
required, to deliver the said key and give his consent eflFectually 
by any of the said house, deputed by the major part of the chap- 
lains, and he the said prior refuse to deliver, and give his conseiit 
or neglect or be remiss, or maliciously omit it, the metropolitan shall 
fine him, toties qnoties, &s. 4d.' 

'Itefn, I will that the master and chaplains of the said bouse, 
or their major number, shall be judges of the necessity or utility 
aforesaid,' 

* Itei7i, as to that clause, &c. wherein we ordain, that after the 
death of both of us, that so often as the said almshouse shall by death 
or recess, or otherwise be destitute of a master or keeper, the j)rior of 
St. Oswald shall choose a fit chaplain, of good conversation, honest in 
spirituals and temporals, provident and discreet, and present him to 
the archbishop, &c. within fifteen days, and if the prior be negligent, 
the archbishop shall present for that turn. I will, that in the vacancy 
of the master of the said college, one of the chaplains of the said col- 
lege according to the descretion of the prior of St Oswald, with the 
consent, of the chaplains, and no other, be chosen.' 

'Iton, there be a fit chaplain in the house.' 

* Iteiu, as to that clause wherein we will that the prior of St. Os- 
wald have power of supervising the said house, and correcting, punish- 
ing, and reforming the state of it, in persons and all things whatsoever, 
by himself or some other canons of the said monaster}" by him deputed, 
every fourth year ; we will that the premises derogate not from the 
dignity, right, and ordinary views of the archbishop.' 

' Ite7n, as to that clause in which it was not considered that so 
many visitations of the prior, archbishop, and archdeacons might be 
over burthensome to the house and persons there, therefore he wills 
that the prior, &c. have power not oftener than once in a year to visit 
the said house, unless it be at the request of the master and chaplains.' 

' Itefn, I will that the prior visit in his own person and not by 
another, and that the statutes of the master, with order and declaration 
be in all things observed.' 

* Item, I will that the house may not be burthened in any thing, 
that the prior for all costs on pretence of visitation, have no more than 
40*. All which he the said Robert KnoUes confirms : Dated at Scul- 
thorpe, 15 May, 7 Henry IV. and the archbishop approves, &c. Dated, 
Cawood, 25th January, 1418.' 

Nothing more of the first ordination of sir Robert Knolles has 
hitherto been met with, except the following memorandum by Mr. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 321 

Dodsworth, that in a book containing the charters, &c. belonging to 
the college of St. Trinity and the almshouse, then in the custody of 
Francis Bunay, of Newland, there is mentioned six letters patent, the 
first by king Richard II.; the second by John duke of Lancaster; the 
third by Henry earl of Derby ; the fourth by the archbishop ; the fifth 
of the ordination of the founders ; and the sixth from the Pope ; but 
unfortunately four leaves are wanting in the book, where these letters 
were inscribed. 

* The said sir Robert KnoUes, and John Drew, cterfc, by the king'^s 
licence, under the great seal, and the seal of the dutchy, give to the 
chaplain and college, or chantry of Pontefract, called KnoUes' alms- 
house, fifteen messuages, eighty acres of land, six acres of pasture, six 
acres of wood, in Pontefract and Darthington. Dated at Pontefract, 
1406, 3 Henry IV. f. 36, No. 202.' 

* The said Robert KnoUes presents Wm. Hall, chaplain, as custos 
of the college and hospital, to Robert archbishop of York, &c. Dated 
Sculthorpe, 1397, the day after St. Lawrence, f. 5. No. 265.' 

* The said sir Robert KnoUes gives to Robert de Baybrook, bishop 
of London, John lord Cobham, knight, John Drew, clerk, and John 
Seymour, of London, all his messuages, lordships, tenements, advow- 
sons of chapels and chantries, rents, services, reversions, franchises 
liberties, &c. in the county of Rorsall. Dated at Dunston, 18th June, 
10 Richard II. f. 43. No. 231.' 

The founders granted twenty marks to the master or warden, ten 
marks to each of the chaplains, and five to each clerk, for their main- 
tenance ; and 341. 4s. 4§d. to the thirteen poor persons and servitors ; 
which sum amounted to three halfpence each per day, as well as four- 
pence on each of the principal feasts, viz. Holy Trinity, Christmas, 
Easter, Pentecost, All Saints, and the five feasts of the Purification of 
the Blessed Virgin. At the same time he granted ten marks to be 
paid annually for the clothing of the said poor and servitors, and 
1/. 5*. Sd. to the service and salary of the two servitors annually. 

At the suppression of religious houses, in the reign of Henry VIII. 
the value of the revenues of this house are variously estimated. 
According to Speede's Britaine, it was stated at 182^. 13^. 7c?. and by 
Bancroft, 26 Henry VIII. at 182/. 14*. 5d. clear of reprises; and in 
Stevens' Supplement, 37 Henry VIII. at 200/. 5*. Qd ob. and consequent- 
ly it received but very little addition to its revenues from others. 

In 26 Henry VIII. Bancroft's MS. Valor, saith there were in this 
religious house, ' Magister sex confratres, et Sacrista,' and Willis in 
his history of abbeys, observes that the following pensions were en- 
joyed by the master and five of the fellows^ A.D, lf>53, viz. To Thos, 
S S 



322 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



Hewett, master, 61. I3s. Ad. to Thomas Burton, John Dixon, RoBert 
Fauxe, John Sowcesby, Roger Marshall, fellows, 6?. each, as well as to 
Richard Rydeall, incumbent of Rufforth chantry, 3/. 12^. 

THE MASTERS OF THIS HOSPITAL. 



Temp. Listit. 




17 Mail, 


1410. 


18 Jimii, 


1418. 


18 Deer. 


1419. 


10 Mar. 


1447. 


28 January, 


1467. 


IZJunii, 


1494. 


tilt. April, 


1513. 


4 January, 


1524. 


Temp. Tnstit. 


20 August, 


1397. 


20 March, 


1421. 


5 December,1419. 


7 April, 


1462. 


10November,1467. 


9 June, 


1486. 


13 Mali, 


1513. 


15 March, 


1515. 


2Julii, 


1517. 



Temp. Instit. 
20 August, 1397. 
14 October, 1423. 
28 Junii, 1464. 

18 Februaiy, 1476. 
28 Mali, 1484. 

27 Julii, 1494. 

lajanuaiy, 1524. 

Temp. Instit. 
20 November, 1398. 

28 Junii, 1418. 
20 December, 1419. 
16 February, 1447. 

20 January, 1483. 
26 Julii, 1481. 

22 December,1626. 

19 Maii, 1^29^ 

Temp. Instit. 
T2November,1392. 

4 February, 1446. 
18 December, 1453. 

4 Mali. 1468. 

16 October, 1488. 

2 October, 1505. 

Temp. Instit.^ 
13November,1398. 

29 Junii, 1444. 

3 Junii, 1479. 

3 January, 1511. 

Temp. Instit. 

8 Mail, 1403. 

2 January, 1448. 

4 March 1468. 

3 March, 1228. 

9 April, 1537. 

1553. 



Custodes Do7nus. 
Dns. Joh de Newthorp, alias 

Studemau. 
Dns. Joh. de Stretton, Pr. 
Dns. Alexander Rawden, Cap. 
Dns. Joh. Cudworth. 
M. Joh Lathome. 
Dns. Jac. Clapeham, Cap. 
Dns. Rob. Cooke, Cap. 
Dns. Thomas Baghill, Pr. 
M.Thomas Huchon, L B. 

THE CHAPLAINS. 

Capellani \mi. 
Dns. Will Spycer, Cap. 
Dns. Joh. Sadylworth, Pr. 
Dns. Joh. Wyles, Pr. 
Dns. Ric. Blackburne, Cap. 
Dns, Joh. Botall, Cap. 
Dns. Tho Baghill, Pr. 
Dns. Will. Cubberd, Pr. 
Dns. Jac. Tutyll, Cap. 
Dns. Joh. Pafkyn, Cap. 

Capellani 2d. 
Dns. Joh. Parlyngton. 
Dns. Joh. Pountefreyt, Pr. 
Dns. Jac. Clapham, Pr. 
Dns. Joh. Sokburn, Cap. 
Dns. Robert Cooke, Pr. 
Dns. Tho. Grone, Cap. 
M. Tho. Hochon. 
Dns. Rog. Marshall, Pr. 

Capellani 3tii. 
Dns. Alex. Rawden. 
Dns. Joh. Cudeworth, Pr. 
Dns. Joh. White, Pr. 
M. Joh. Lathum. 
Dns. AVill. Foster. 
Dns. Joh. Sokeburn, Cajj. 
Dns. Joh. Burton, Pr. 
Dns. Walt. Brown, Pr. 
Dns. Edm. Gibson, Pr. 

Capellani 4ti. 
Dns. Will. Hall. 
Dns. Joh. Cooke, Pr. 
Dns. Robt. Falnej Cap. 
Dns. Joh. Leyes vel Lete, Cap. 
Dns. Joh. Blake, Cap. 
Dns. Robert Moxon. 
Dns. Tho. Howthon, Pr. 

Capellani bti. 
Dns. Robert Freston, Cap. 
Dns. Robert Benet, Cap. 
Dns. Joh. Carver, Cap. 
Dns. Rad.Dicson, Cap. 

Capellani Gti, 
Dns. Robert de Hill, Pr. 
Dns. Thomas Melsamby, Cap. 
Dns. Joh. Lisle. 
Dns. Joh. Sharp, Pr. 
Dns. Joh. Cowkepage, Pr. 
Dns. Joh. Dykson, Cap. 
Dns. Thomas Hewett, 



Patroni. 


Vacat. 


P. and C. de N. 


p. resig. 


lidem. 


p. mort. 


C. A. p. lap. 
P. and C. de N. 


p. mort. 




iidem. 


p. resig. 


iidem. 


p. mort. 


iidem. 


p. mort. 


iidem. 


p. mort. 


iidem. 


p. resig. 


Patronl. 


Vccat. 


D. R. N. Mil. 


p. mort. 


M. and C. D. 




iidem. 


p. mort. 


iidem. 


p. mort. 


iidem. 


p. mort. 


iidem. 


p. dismis, 


iidem. 


p. resig. 


iidem. 


p. resig. 


Patroni. 


Vacat. 


D. R. N. Mil. 




M. and C. Col. 




iidem. 


p. resig. 


iidem. 


p. dismis. 


iidem. 


p. resig. 


iidem. 




iidem. 


p. resig. 


iidem. 




Patroni. 


Vacat. 


R. K. MiL 


p. resig. 


M. and C. 




iidem. 




iidem. 




iidem. 


p. mort. 


iidem. 


p. resig. 


iidem. 


p. mort.. 


iidem. 


p. resig. 


Patroni. 


Vacat, 


D.R. K. 




M. and F. &c. 




iidem. 


p. resig. 


iidem. 


p. mort. 


Col. p. Lap. 




M. and C. &c. 


p. mort. 


iidem. 




Patroni. 


Vacat. 


D. R. K. Mil. 




M. and F. &c. 


p. mort. 


iidem. 


p. mort. 


iidem. 




Patroni. 


Vacat, 


D. R. K. Mil. 




M. and F. Sec. 




iidem. 


p. resig. 


iidem. 


p. mort. 


iidem. 


p. resig. 


iidem. 


p. mort. 


iidem. 





HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT, 323 

RULES OF THE BRETHREN. 

'Initio.— Every one to the brother house, at their entrance, in bread and ale, 
eight-pence ; and to the sister house at their entrance, in bread and ale, eight-pence. 

To tire brother house, one v/ain load of wood, and one wain load of coals at the 
far pits 5 or also for every of the wain load, twenty horse load of coals, and twenty 
horse load at their entrance. And to the sister house at their entrance, either a wain 
load of wood and a wain load of coals, or else forty Jiorse load of coals at the far pits. 

That every brother and sister at his or her entrance shall bring in their bed. 

7'hat every brother and sister at his or her entrance shall bring in a towel cloth, of 
eight-pence per yard, or else two shillings in money. Also that every brother shall 
bring in a pewter doubler of fourteen-pence, or fovuteen-pence in money, and a porrin- 
ger or two-pence in money. And likewise, every brother and sister at his and her en- 
trance, shall give to each house two-pence halfpenny in money, and also in bread and 
ale to each house, eight-pence. And also, every one to bring in their commons betwixt 
ten and twelve of the clock in the morning of the Saturdays, and that none shall carry 
his or her meat out of tlie house to eat. And that every brother and sister shall repair 
to the chapel to prayer -at nine of the clock in the morning, and at three o'clock in the 
afternoon, or to lose their commons. And that every brother shall give to each house 
at their death, in bread and ale, eight-pence. And at the death of every sister to give 
likewise to each house in bread and ale, eight-pence. And that every brother and 
sister shall bring in one dozen horse loads of coals every year, against winter, the 
same to be brought in at Lammas, at the furthest.' The above rules were renewed oa 
the 24th day of April, 1658.' 

After the dissolution, queen Elizabeth , in the fourth year of her reign, granted to 
Anthony Wakefield, divers tenements and lands, lately belonging to the college called 
Knolles' Almshoxise ; viz. ' One tenement in the market-place; one close called Long 
Close, and three acres of meadow in Potwell j one tenement and one acre of meadovi^ 
in Bennet Ings ; two tenements in Pontefract; one tenement, one close, seven acres of 
land, and one acre of land, one barn near the quarries, and one tenement in Pontefract, 
one tenement in North Street, and one close there; one tenement in Baxter Gate ; 
one tenement and close near the Back-lane 5 one tenement and one acre in Potwellj 
five tenements in North Street; three acres in Potwell ; forty acres of land in Ferry- 
bridge Field ; one barn in North Street, and an orchard ; land" in the West Field, with. 
one barn more ; one tenement on Bitchill ; one close called Graveleys ; two tenements 
in Micklegate, and one shop ; a chamber near the hospital of St. Nicholas, and three 
acres of land. A parcel of land called Brakehill Flat; one tenement at Bondgate; one 
close near Hodgwood ; one tenement near the gate of the said college, and six tene- 
ments more, and one cellar, one barn, and certain Arable lands in Friston Field ; one 
piece of land called Fulforth Flat; one tenement in Fenton, and one tenement in 
North Milford. A garden in Northgate; one acre in Bennet Ings, one close called 
Hodgworth, containing five acres; and one acre of meadow for the term of 21 years, 
paying 2U. ISs. 6d. The qxieen will exonerate the said Anthony Wakefield of the rent 
of 4i. 18s. issuing out of the premises; viz. of 2L 7s. paid to the mayor and bixrgesses of 
Pontefract, of 8s. due to them as provost of the field, 3s. payable to John Hamerton and 
21, payable to Anthony Wakefield, for his fee ; and the tenant to keep all in repairs, 
&c. &c.' 

In the 6th year of her reign, she made the following grant for a schoolmaster in 
Pontefract, and also a regvdation of Knowles' Almshouse, dated the 23d of October, 
1563. 

' Elizabeth, by the grace of God of Englonde, Fraunce and lerland, Quene De- 
fender of the faithe, &c. To all people to whome theis our Leter shall come gretinge, 

WHERAsbyour Trustie and right welbeloued Sr. Walter Mildmaye knight, and 
our Trxistie and welbeloued Robart Kailwair, Esquire, Comissyoners appointed by force 
of a comishion to them dyrected for the contynuynge of gramer scoles, fresh appels and 
other thinges wheruppon the said Sr. Walter Mildmaye and Robert Kelwaye Esquire, 
by their Warrante signed wth their handes. Directed to the Chancellor of the dtichye 
of Lancaster then for the time beynge, under the Chauncellor of the same duchye wch 
for the time shuld be, did amonge other thinges appointe one schoolmaster, to 
serve within our towne of Ponntefret, prcU of our said duchie in our countie of York, 
and to have for his stipend yearlie, lixs. vijd. And also in the same Warrannt dyd ap- 
pointe to contyne one Almeshouse within the same towne, called Knoles Almeshousein 
the wch XV aged people mayntained wherof ij of the said xv are Servannts to the rest, 
and every of the said xv to haue yearlie liijs. iiijd. as by the same Warrannt remayninge 
in our Duchie Register at Westmr. more plainly and at large it doese and may appeare | 
and for so muche nowe as wee are credybly enformed that the Scholemaster wch now 
serveth in the same towne doese not his endevour and diligence, the due Education and 
bringing up of young chyldren there accordynge to the truste comytted to him, and 
that also dyverse of our personnes have been heretofore placed and appointed as almes- 
people in the same Almeshouse wch have bene very unmete persones for the same 
Romes and places wch is contrary to our entente and meaning, We, therefore consi- 
deringe the same, (minding reformation thereof,) and also the good education and 
bringynge upp. of yonge chyldren in vertue and godly learninge, and also that con veny- 
ente and mete persones from time to time hereafter be appointed and placed in the 
said Almeshouse, accordynge to the true entente and menynge of the fundaton thcrof. 
And havinge a Truste and Confydence in our Maior and Combvirgesses, or chieflie 
Burgesses of the said Towne, nowe for the time beinge, and wch herafter shal be, do hir 



324 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

theis presents for us, our heirs, and successors by the advise and consent of our Chaun- 
cellor and councell of our said duchye, authorise our saide Maior and Comburgesses, or 
chief Burgesses of our said towne, nowe for the time beinge, and wch herafter shal be, 
that theye from tyme to tyme from henceforth shal by their discretion and wisdome 
Appointe such a master, sober, discrete, learned and able personne, to serve and be a 
scholemaster in the saide Towme as to them shal seeme good and beste, for the education 
and bringinge upp of yonge chyldren therr from tyme to tyme, in vertue, and godly 
education, and lernyng-e, as they will answere for' hym, from tyme to tyme at their 
perill. And also from tyme to tyme herafter, suche of the saide romes of Almespeople 
as shal happen to be voyde to place other aged, impotent and needy mete personnes 
from tyine to tyme in the same romes, Accordynge to the saide Ancyent fundation of 
the same Almeshouse, as to them shal be thought moste mete and expedyente ; And 
theis graunt to contynue to the saide Maior and Burgesses duringe our pleasur. And 
theis our license shal be unto our said Maior and Burgesses nowe for the tyme beynge, 
and to suche as herafter shal be a suflicient Warrant and dischardge againste us, our 
heires and successors, at all tymes, herafter concernynge the executon of the premises 
in Everie Behaulf. Geven at oxir saide Palaise under the seale of our said duchie the 
xxiij day of October, in the vith year of our reign. 

Ry. OUSTENDE.' 



Mr. John Mercer, hy his last will and testament, dated 20th May, 
1574, gave to this hospital half the rents arising from a house, orchard, 
garden, edifices and buildings at Whitechapel, in London, and left the 
other portion to the poor people of the parish of Whitechapel. The 
chm-chwardens and overseers of Whitechapel are appointed trustees for 
the same. The money generally received for the use of the poor of 
this hospital is divided equally amongst them by the mayor for the 
time being ; and should there at any time be a vacancy, betwixt any 
person dying and the replacing of another into the hospital, the money 
due for such vacancy, is retained by the mayor for the repairs of the 
hospital. 

In the year 1746, the following seems to have been the form of 
receipt given from the brethren of KnoUes' Almshouse, to the priest 
at Whitechapel, for the half yearly sum arising to them, out of Mr^ 
Mercer's donation : — 

KNOLLES' ALMESHOUSE. 

* Know all men by these presents, that we the poor people, brethren and sisters 
•of KnoUes' Almeshouse at Trinity's in Pontefract, have had and received the day of the 
date hereof, of the parson of the parish church and rectory of St. Mary Matfella, at 
Whitechapel, without Aldgate, in London, in the county of Middlesex, the sum of 40s. 
for one half-year's rent issuing out of the messuage or tenement, late the inheritance 
of John Mercer, deceased, due at Michaelmas. 

In Witness whereof, we have hereunto put oui- hands and marks, this fourth day 
-of October, Anao Domini, 1746. 

Brothers. Sisters. 

John Cookson Mrs. Hirst 

Samuel Morton Ann Fforest 

Samuel Lapidge Mary Ffores 

John W^ebster Frances Brown 

John Hall Elizabeth NewhiU 

Thomas Hepwortli Elizabeth Cook 

Richard Wagg Mary Holgate 

Mary Green, Servant Isabella Donby, Ser\'ant 

In further testimony hereof, I William Lee, now Maior of the town of Pontefract 
tiave hereunto set my hand and seale of the office of Maioraltie, this fourth day of Octo- 
ibEr, Anno Domini, 1/46. 

Wm. LEE, Mayor^' 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 325 

In the 18th year of her reign, queen Elizabeth granted to the said 
Anthony Wakefield, the site, circuit and bounds of the said college 
called Trinity College, in Pontefract ; with all the buildings, &c. for 
twenty-one years, paying 20*. per annum ; and Jonathon Freston, 
gentleman, obtained the said Anthony Wakefield's right, and surren- 
dered his title in Easter term, eighteen years of the queen, and he paid 
271. \&s. 6d. of old rent, and 3*. 6d. new, &c. so as there shall be 251. 2s. 
clear rent to the queen, she to have the site and premises from Easter 
last past for twenty-one years, paying the 28Z. And the queen exon- 
erates the farmer of 21. 14*. payable out of it. Dated 4th of June 18 
Elizabeth, 1576. 

In the 34th year of the same queen's reign, on the I7th of Septem- 
ber, John Freston, of Altofts, esq. conveys the hospital of St. Trinitys, 
in Pontefi-act, and divers lands, to the master and fellows of the Univer- 
sity College of Oxford, reserving a rent for the maintenance of the 
poor there, which he confirms by his last will and testament, dated 26 
November, 37 Elizabeth, 1594. 

The feoffes are Henry Saville, Serjeant at law, Richard Worthey, 
esq. Robert Waterhouse, esq. Mr. West, of Firbeck, gentleman, John 
Brown, of University College, who was one of his executors, to each 
of whom he gives in his will, '61. 

By the same grant he founded Fellowship and two Fellowships. 
By the aforesaid will he gives 10/. per annum out of his lands and 
tenements, called Trinities, in Pontefract, to the schoolmaster of his 
free school in Normanton. 

To his wife, Margery Freston, he gives all the chapel, messuages, 
or late chantry or college, now or lately called KnoUes' Almeshouse, 
in the Trinities of Pontefract; and all the messuages, lands, &c. thereto 
belonging, for her natural life, answering to the queen, and to the 
master and fellows of University College, in Oxford, such sum as he 
had charged, and he gives her the household stuff in the said Trinities, 
excepting his writing books, and an iron bound chest. And he gives to 
every of the brothers and sisters of the said trinity, a gown of cloth 
of five shillings the broad yard. 

By a deed relating to the hospitals of St. Nicholas and Trinity, 
aated 19th September, 1650, there is granted an annual sum to this 
hospital of 4H. 5*. issuing out of certain fee-farm rents, payable for 
divers lands and houses in Wintersett, Crofton, and West Hardwick, 
with ail the rights, members and appurtenances of St. Oswald of 
Nostall, with Santingley Grange, the rectory of Clifton, the tithes of 
hay, grain, pullets, hens and ducks, in Clifton aforesaid, and the tithes 
.^f grain in Hardwick Roods, being parcel of the rectory of Pontefract, 



326 HISTORY O? FONTEFRACT. 

&c. for the consideration of 812/. 175. 3|rf. formerly payable to the 
crown of England, dutchies of Lancaster and Cornwall. 

This sum of 41/. 5s. was afterwards augmented to G3L 7s. as appears 
by a clause in the act of parliament passed in the year 1730.* On the 
receiving of this money, the mayor gives a treat to the aldermen, re- 
ceiver, &c. at which time are provided 7-ed apples and nuts ; as it has 
been the ancient custom to present some to the dutchy of Lancaster. 
From hence arises the erroneous idea, that the corporate body of Pon- 
tefract, hold their charter by this service. A few days after this enter- 
tainment, the money is equally distributed amongst the poor of the 
hospital. 

Dr. Boothroyd, in his History of Pontefract, states that this hospital 
will receive an addition to its revenues from the possessions of Mr. J. 
Whiteman, brickmaker, who bequeathed the rents of certain houses, 
and the interest of certain monies to this hospital for ever, after the 
decease of his widow, brother and sister ; who are to enjoy the profits 
thereof, during the term of their natural lives. The following is the 
clause of his will, in which this bequest is made. 

* And lastly at my said wife's death, I bequeath all rents and inter- 
ests, to be paid in half-yearly payments by my executors, or their 
heirs, as before named, to the Trinity Hospital in Pontefract, to be 
distributed to the brothers and sisters of the said hospital, share and 

* The clause for a\igmenting the dutchy allo-wance to Trinity Hospital runs thus : 
♦And whereas, from the reign of king Edward the sixth, there hath been and 

still is allowed and paid out of the revenues of the said dutchy arising within the honor 
of Pontefract aforesaid, the annual sum of Forty one pounds, andjive shilli7igs, for or 
towards the maintenance of the poor of Trinity Hospital, otherwise called Knoicles's 
Almeshouse, in Pontefract aforesaid ; And whereas, for making some further provisions 
for the said poor, certain lands in the said park, were, in or about the year 1764, by the 
consent of the then lessee of the said Park, and the inhabitants of Pontefract, taken up, 
and a certain annual sum, hath been paid by the tenant thereof for the time being, to 
the Trustees of the said hospital, for the use of the poor thereof: And whereas on the 
treaty for the division of the said park, it hath been agreed, that in lieu of the allow- 
ance so made oxit of the inclosed lands, the aforesaid ancient allowance of fortj'-one 
pounds and five shillings shall be augmented to the annual sum of sixty- three pounds 
and seven shillings 5 and that the said new inclosed lands and his Majesty's lessees 
thereof shall be discharged from all future payments to the said hospital : Be it there- 
fore further enacted, that from and after the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, one 
thousand seven hundred and eighty, there shall be charged and annually paid out of the 
revenues and possessions of the said dutchy, within the honor of Pontefract, by the 
receiver thereof for the time being, on debentures from the auditor of the said dutchy, 
and in lieu of the several payments or allowances aforesaid, unto the trustees or gxiar- 
dians of the said hospital for the time being, for the use of the poor thereof, the annual 
sum of sixty-three pounds and seven shillings, on such days and times, and in like man- 
ner as tlie said payment or allowance of forty-one pounds and five shillings hath been 
usually paid ; and that the poor of the said hospital and the trustees and guardians 
thereof, shall have and be intitled unto all such lawful ways and means for the recovery 
of the said sum of sixty- three poimds and seven shillings per annum, or any arrears 
thereof, as they could or might lawfully have had or may have for the recovery of the 
said allowance of forty-one pounds and five shillings per annum: and the said park, 
lands, and premises shall, from and after the said feast of St. Michael the Archangel, 
one thousand seven hundred and eighty, be held and enjoyed by the king's majesty, 
his heirs and successors, and his and their lessees or grantees, freed and discharged 
from the Payment of all annuities and sums of money to the said hospital, and the 
trustees, guardians or Poor thereof, and all annuities and payments whatsoever, to or 
for the use of the inhabitants of the townships of Pontefract and Tanshelf, or either of 
them. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 327 

share alike for ever, subject only to the useful and necessary repairs 
of my aforesaid houses.' 

This chapel was repaired in the year 1691, at the expense of the 
corporation, and in the year 1735, the almshouse was repaired at the 
expense of the town and corporation. 

PERFECT'S HOSPITAL. 

This hospital is situate at the bottom of Micklegate, and was built 
in the year 1667, at the joint expense of the town and corporation. 

It is called Perfect's Hospital from the endowment thereof by the 
late alderman Wm. Perfect, who, by a deed, gave to the corporation 
five tenements and three liquorice garths adjoining thereto, all contigu- 
ous to the said hospital, in trust for the poor persons in the same hos- 
pital, who were to be four aged and infirm married couples belonging 
to the town of Pontefract. 

The placing and displacing of the said poor persons in the said hos- 
pital was vested in the said William Perfect, during his life, and after 
his death in the mayor and aldermen of Pontefract, for the time being, 
for ever, who are perpetual trustees for the same. 

It is the custom when any of the poor people in this hospital die, 
to remove the survivor into KnoUes' or Trinity Hospital, upon the first 
vacancy that shall happen there, in order to make room here for 
another poor married couple, and so from time to time, in order that 
it may be always enjoyed by four poor ancient decayed housekeepers, 
and their wives. The following was the rent of this hospital in 1805 : 

Paid by Mr. Richard Dunliill, 25s. half-yearly rent for liquorice ground, 

at the back of the hospital, due Feb. 2d, and Aug. 2d, old rent, 2 10 
Paid by John Rennards 15s. half yearly rent for a cottage, due Feb. 2d, 

and Aug. 2d, old rent, ,. 1 10 

Paid by William Briggs, 15s. half-yearly, for do. do. ........ 1 10 

Paid by Thomas Carter, 21s. quarterly, for hoixse, old rent, 4 4^ 

Paid by Mrs. Harrison, 25s. quarterly, for a house held on lease, late Mrs. 

Ackins', old rent, 5 

Paid by Mrs. Tomlinson, 25s. quarterly, for house and stable, old rent, 5 

19 14 
The rents in the year 1807 are thus noted in a MS. book belonging 

to the town, which are paid by the overseer : — 

J. Rennards to commence Feb. 2d, and Aug. 2d, 1807, * 2 2 

William Briggs, do. do. do 2 

Thomas Carter, do. do. do 6 

Mrs. Tomlinson for a house and stable, 8 8 

For a piece of garden or liquorice ground, behind the above houses occu- 
pied by Thomas Birkby, Feb. 2, 1808, 6 60 

29 18 
FRANK'S HOSPITAL. 

This hospital is situate at the bottom of Micklegate, and has against 
its front the greater part of a statue, judged to be that of a knight, but 
mutilated almost to a nondescript sculpture. The house formerly 



328 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

contained one apartment in which were placed two poor women, and 
is supposed to have been left by Mr. Matthew Frank, formerly tm 
alderman of this borough. The donations granted to it are, one garth 
at the back of the hospital which used to let for 18^. per annum ; a 
liquorice garden near St. Nicholas' Hospital called the Bull Garth, 
formerly let for 11, YSs. per anunm ; and a house at the bottom of 
Micklegate let for 12*. 6rf. annually, which were paid quarterly by the 
renter. 

The rents of this place in 1806 and 1807, were as follows : a rent 
paid by Mr. Frank, on March 25th, 10*. A rent of close in Spittle 
Hardwick lane, containing 2a. 2r. 39p. lately accupied by Francis 
Fisher, 4?. IO.y. yearly, but now in the occupation of Mr. Hall, at the 
annual rent of 10/. JO*, commencing February 2d 1806, to be paid quar- 
terly. A rent from Mr. Rd. Dunhill of 5*. 3<?. quarterly; Richard 
Wilcock now occupies this at the j'early rent of 6?. lO*. commencing 
February 2d, 1807, 

Mr. Robert Frank, late of Pontefract, by his last will and testar 
ment, * devises unto his daughter Margaret and her heirs for ever, 
one cottage or tenement he has lately built in Micklegate, in Ponte- 
fract, for an almshouse, wherein he has placed and put in Susannah 
Firth and Ann Porter, two poor widows, for their several lives ; and 
also, all his trust estate, and interest of and in one close of meadow or 
pasture, lying and being in the north field or long close at St, 
Thomas Hill, at Pontefract aforesaid, containing by estimation two 
acres, now in the possession of Joseph Clarkson. Also, one acre two 
roods and thirty-one perches of land, lying in a place called Beckhill, 
in a field called Nether Taythes, and now in the possession of Mr. 
Brum-head ; for the use, and in trust, and to the intent that the said 
"Margaret Frank, her heirs and assigns, pay and distribute the rents, 
issues, and profits thereof, to the said Susannah Firth and Ann Porter, 
for their several lives, to be equally divided between them, and after 
their decease to such poor widows as shall hereafter be placed and 
elected into the said almshouse, and so successively to such poor 
widows, as shall be elected and placed in the said almshouse for ever 
The said rent or rents to be paid half yearly to them, by even and 
equal proportions ; to wit, at the feast of Pentecost and St. Martin the 
bishop, in winter; and he does further will and appoint, that after the 
deaths of the said Susannah Firth and Ann Porter, or either of them, 
that another poor widow of Pontefract shall be chosen and placed in 
the said almshouse, in the room and place of her or them so dying 
within one month after her or their decease ; and so upon the deatk 
of any other widow after being elected, be so filled up ; that there may 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 329 

be always two poor widows in the said almshouse for ever. The elect- 
ing, placing, and displacing of the said widows for misdemeanors, to 
be in the said Margaret Frank, her heirs and assigns, the mayor and 
three senior aldermen, or comburgesses, of Pontefract, resident in the 
said town, for the time being, and their successors, or the major part 
of them J and he does also appoint the said persons and the vicar of 
Pontefract, and his successors, to elect and place the poor widows, up- 
on vacancies, into the almshouse in Micklegate aforesaid, founded by 
his great grandfather or great uncle Frank, or one of them, as also in 
the almshouses in Naut Market, in Pontefract, founded by Mr. Cow- 
per. And that the said Margaret Frank, and her heirs, have power to 
make lease or leases of the said charity lands or houses, belonging to 
the said hospital, for 21 years, for the best rents as can be got for the 
same, to be paid half-yearly as aforesaid ; And further he wills and 
declares that if the rents, issues and profits of his aforesaid close, called 
Rancall Pits, be let for four pounds a year, that he does charge the 
same with the payment of ten shillings a year, to the said Susannah 
Firth and Ann Porter, for their lives, to be divided betwixt them, and 
after their deaths, to such poor widows a& shall be after placed in the 
said almshouse for ever, and that the said Margaret Frank, her heirs 
and assigns, do pay the same out of the rents and profits of the said 
close, with various other affairs settled in his will. He appoints his 
daughter Mai'garet Frank, his sole executrix. Signed R. Frank. Wit- 
nesses, William Smithson, Robert Wright, Michael Scrimshire.* 

Adjoining to the above hospital, is another tenement supposed to 
have been built by Mr. Robert Frank upon part of the ground left by 
Mr. Matthew Frank, above mentioned, and is endowed as follows : 

' November 16, 1629, By a deed made between Leonard Ward, of 
Pontefract, on the one part, and Robert Moor, gentleman, then mayor, 
Matthew Kay, of Baghill, Richard Frank, of Campsall, gentlemen, and 
Dorothy Frank, of Pontefract, widow, on the other part. Whereas, 
Mr. John Frank, alderman, deceased, by his last will and testament, in 
writing, bearing date 16th January 1618, amongst other things did 
give to the poor of Pontefract, fifty pounds, to b€ paid by his son, Mr. 
Richard Frank, within two years after his death, forth of lands in Fen- 
wick and Norton, to the churchwardens of the town of Pontefract, for 
the time being, to be bestowed in lands or otherwise, to and for the 
use aforesaid, by the mayor of Pontefract, for the time being, and by 
Matthew Kay, of Brotherton, and by Henry Frank, his brother, and 



* It appears doubtful whether Mr. Frank had any right to appoint to the trust 
estate mentioned in tlie above will, or with the land of Clarkson or Brumhead to the 
house he lately built or no. Mr. John Frank's will is silent as to the authority. 

T T 



330 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Richard Frank, his son, or hy so many of them as shall be then liviTig-. 
And by his will the said fifty pounds, (or lands and profits thereof,; 
shall yearly remain to the use aforesaid for ever, to be distributed by 
the consent of the said mayor, and his heirs. And whereas the said 
Richard Frank has already paid the said fifty pounds into the hands of 
the said Dorothy, his mother, by consent of the churchwardens 
aforesaid ; and which said Dorothy Frank of her own free will, has 
given ten pounds more to the use aforesaid, which being added to th^ 
above fifty pounds doth make sixty ; with which the said Robert Moor, 
mayor, Matthew Kay, and Richard Frank, with the assistance of the 
said Dorothy Frank, his mother, in performance of the said last will 
and testament as above, have bought and purchased of the said Leon- 
ard Ward, the parcels of lands hereafter mentioned : viz. one acre of 
arable land in Beckhill, and also two acres of inclosed land, called Long 
Close, in St. Thomas' Hill Field, abutting upon Monkhill Lane, to the 
only use and behalf of the said Robert Moore, Matthew Kay, and Rd. 
Frank, and their heirs and the survivor or survivors of them shall 
stand and be seised as feoffees in trust, to the only proper use of the 
poor people in Pontefract, for the time being, for ever, and to be dis- 
tributed by the mayor, for the time being, and by the heirs of the 
above John Frank, to the use of the poor of Pontefract for ever.' 

Although the above donation is to the poor of the town generally, 
the rents of the land have been distributed to the poor people in this 
hospital, out of respect to the donor. 

The I'ents belonging to this hospital in 1807, amounted to 11. and 
in the year 1822, the property was let on lease to Mr. Armitage, who 
engaged to lay out 100/. in repairs, &c. and the rent in future to be 5?. 
per annum. 

THWAITES' HOSPITAL. 

This hospital was founded by Mr. Richard Thwaites on the 9th 
of May, 1620, in the street called Newgate, in Tanshelf, and on the 
20th May, 1620, he left by his last will and testament, two cottages 
that are divided into four rooms, and also two gardens thereunto be- 
longing and adjoining, for an hospital for four ancient poor women of 
good years, who shall be single women and dwell severally in the said 
four rooms and liave equal shares and profits of the two gardens there- 
unto belonging : also, an annual rent to be paid by his heirs out of the 
rents and profits of a close called Tanshelf Well Close adjoining to 
Pontefract Park, of twelve horse loads of coals to each poor woman 
in the said hospital, for their fire yearly, and 40^. at four payments 
viz. on St. Michael the Archangel, 10^, on the feast of St. John the 



HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT. 331 

Baptist, 10^. on St. Thomas the Apostle, 10^. and on the annunciation 
of the blessed Virgin Mary, 10,y. to them and their successors for ever, 
towards their relief and maintenance. Three of the said poor people 
placed in the said rooms to be taken out of the town of Pontefract, and 
one out of Tanshelf ; both at their first placing in the said rooms, and 
at all times succeeding for ever, and in case the said coals shall not be 
brougTit regularly to the poor people, by his heirs, or the purchaser of 
this copyhold estate, then the trustees hereafter mentioned shall re- 
ceive 31. every year out of the rents and profits of the said Tanshelf 
Well Close, and therewith procure the said coals for them for ever. 
The trustees appointed by the said will were his heirs and their suc- 
cessors so long as there were any of them remaining, and in case of a 
failure therein, then to the mayor and vicar of Pontefract for the time 
being, and Henry Frank, his brother-in-law, and two senior aldermen 
during the life of the said Henry Frank, and three of the senior alder- 
men after his death to have the sole direction of the said hospital.* 

It was also decreed by the commissioners of pious uses by an 
inquisition taken at Snaith, 10th April, 1674, that Mr. Thomas Ward, 
the possessor of Tanshelf Well Close, his heirs and assigns, and the 
owner and occupier of the said close, shall for ever hereafter pay and 
stand charged with the payment of 31. yearly to the poor women of the 
said hospital, and the mayor and vicar of Pontefract for the time being, 
and three senior aldermen or the greater number of them, be perpetual 
trustees for the said hospital. 

The rents of this hospital in the year 1806, were as follow : — 

Paidby Mr. Grosvenor Perfect, out of Tanshelf Well Close, 3 

Paid by Mr. Frank, yearly, on the 5th of March, 1 

Paid by Mr. Booth, for garden at the back of the hospital, 110 

This garden let afterwards to Mr. Muscroft, at 61. per annum, and the rent was 
paid quarterly. 

In the year 1764, this hospital was repaired at the expense of Mr. 
Wm. Perfect, alderman, and cost the sum of 30/. 

THE KING'S FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 

Few of our kings deserve so much the grateful remembrance 
of the nation as Edward VI. If the importance of a reign be es- 
timated from the general good that results from it, his reign, though 
short, is one of the most important in the annals of Britain. It is true 
it was not distinguished by splendid conquests ; by the enlargement 
of the national territory, at the expense of thousands of its inhabitants ; 
but it is rendered remarkable by the progress of the reformation ; by 
the piety and benevolence uniformly displayed ; by the wisdom of 
those establishments, which yet continue to instruct and bless the rising 
generation. 



332 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

His father, Harry, capricious and inconstant, acted rather from the 
impulse of passion, than the cool and deliberate dictates of wis- 
dom ; and though he threw off the yoke of the Pope's supremacy, he 
assumed it himself, and unmercifully shed the blood of those subjects 
who ventured in the least to deviate from the creed which he prescribed. 
The spoils of the Catholic Church filled his cofters ; and the patronage 
he enjoyed, as head of the church he established, gave him additional 
power, and every thing in church and state was subject to his despotic 
will. Edward, in every thing the reverse of his father, temperate, 
chaste, humble and pious, had the wisdom to follow the advice of his 
counsellors, and the inclination to execute the plans which they formed. 
Hence arose those excellent institutions, Free Grammar Schools ; and 
few were the towns of any importance, but what had in this reign 
such schools erected and endowed. One was erected here, in the 
second year of his reign, and various others within the Honour of 
Pontefract. 

The endowment of this school was small ; the sum of fifty -nine 
shillings only being allowed to the schoolmaster. It continued with- 
otit any alteration till the fifth of Elizabeth, when complaint was made 
of the inattention and negligence of the schoolmaster, to the chancel- 
lor of the dutch y, and in consequence the right to present a suitable 
master was vested in the mayor and aldermen. 

No addition was made to the endowment till the twenty-fifth of 
Elizabeth, when on the petition of Boniface Savage and others, several 
small endowments of schools, which had been wholly neglected, were 
appropriated to this, that a master every way qualified to teach and 
instruct the rising generation might be obtained. This grant is too 
curious to be omitted, as it contains some interesting particulars re- 
specting the town and castle. 

GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 

* ELIZABETH by the grace of God, of Eneland, France, and Ireland, queen, de- 
fender of the faith, &c. To all to whom these our presents shall come Gueeting, we 
have inspected the form of a certain order or decree recorded in our dutchy court of 
Lancaster, at Westminster, which is to the following purpose, Jt Easter term in the 
25th year of the reign of queen Elizabeth, Whereas it appeareth by the certificate of the 
Right Honorable Walter Mildmave, knight, and Robert Kelway, esq. commissioners 
appointed by virtue of a commission unto them addressed under the great seal of Eng- 
land, which certificate beareth date the 11th day of August, in the second year of the 
reign of the late king of worthy memory king Edward YL for and concerning an order 
to be taken as well for the maintenance and continuance of Grammar Schools as for 
other godly and charitable thingjs that they amongst other things did think it very 
meet and necessary that a Grammar School in Pontefract, in the county of T( ork, 
should be continued and maintained, and that the Schoolmaster there should have for 
his wages fifty-nine shillings and seven-pence, and that a grammar school in Carl- 
ton, in the said county, should likewise continue, and that the then Schoolmaster should 
have for his wages yearly five pounds and four shillings, and that a Grammar School in 
Crofton, in the said county, should likewise continue, and that the said Schoolmaster 
should continue Schoolmaster there and to have for his yearly wages 4Z. 3s. llrf. And 
that a Grammar School at Bolton-upon-Derne, in the said county should likewise con- 
tinue, and that the then Schoolmaster should continue gchoolmaster there, and should 



HISTORY OF PONTBFRACT. 333 

>je paid for his yearly wages, 41. 13s. 4d. And that a Grammar School in Roston in the 
said county should Hkevvise continue and that Richard Thornton, then schoolmaster, 
shoiiUl continue schoolmaster there, and have for his wages yearly, 41. fis. lid. (as by the 
-said certificate of the said Sir Walter Mildmcy and Robert 'Kelway, esq. certified unto 
this court in the said year of the reign of the said king Edward VI. and now lemaining 
of record in the dutchy chamber at the palace of Westminster, plainly doth and may 
appear,) and where also the late king Philip and queen Mary, late king and queen of 
England, did appoint that a grammar school in Crofton, in the said county, should 
likewise continue and that John Hemsworth, then schoolmaster should be and contintie 
schoolmaster there, and have for his wages yearly 31, 19s, lOd. whereupon the said 
schoolmasters for the time being have had only ol the revenues of the dutchy of Lan- 
caster their several wages as aforesaid yearly paid unto them, according to the said 
certificate of the said Walter Mildmey, and Robert Kelway, and for so much as the 
yearly stipend of fifty-nine shilling sand twopence is little and'not suflicicnt to maintain 
any schoolmaster meet for the bringing up of such a great number of youth as be in the 
said town of Pontefract and otiier towns adjoining that w(3uld resort and would repair 
to the same if there were a learned, godiy and virtuous schoolmaster to teach and 
instruct them, and for that the towns wliere the said several schools to be continued by 
force of the said commission and certificates are not above eight miles distant at the 
.most from the said town of Pontefract, and some of the said towns have now of late 
neglected to have any sclioolmaster to be maintained in them because the said wages of 
the said schoolmasters were so small as no such benefit, do grant to and for the good 
education and bringing up of the children of the county thereabouts in virtue and 
learning as was looked for. Whereupon the chancellor and council of the court per- 
suading themselves that if the small stipends were collected and put together, the same 
would maintain a meet, learned and sufficient schoolmaster and usher, which were not 
only a matter of very laudable but also of great benefit to the country, and weighing and 
considering how the queen's most excellent majesty is and always hath been of her 
princely disposition naturally inclined and ready to nurture and further the education 
of youth in learning, virtue and godly life, and for thai the said borough arid town of 
Pontefract is one of the greatest and most populous boroughs of her majesty's said 
dutchy in those parts ; in which town there is the most stateliest castle and meetest 
house for her majesty her heirs and successors to resort unto in those northern parts of 
England, and yet the said town of late is very poor and much decayed, being the most 
meet and convenient place in those parts to have and maintain a Free Grammar School, 
which shall greatly tend to the honour and dignity of her majesty and that hereby her 
majesty's lenity there shall in respect thereof daily have most occasion to remember 
her highness's godly, charitable, virtuous and princely acts, and be daily moved up and 
stirred continually to pray for the long and happy continuance of her most royal per- 
son. In consideration whereof the "chancellor and council of the honourable court 
having well and deliberately considered of the premises, and thinking it very meet and 
convenient as well for the maintenance and augmentation of the said free grammar 
School in Pontefract, as for the causes and considerations aforesaid upon the humble 
suit of Boniface Savage and others, the inhabitants of the said town of Pontefract and 
for as much as the said Boniface Savage as well for himself as in the name of all others 
the inhabitants of Pontefract aforesaid, hath undertaken and faithfully promised unto 
the said chancellor and council at his and their own cost engage to make and fuinish a 
fair schoolhouse within the said town of Pontefract which shall be a sufficient meet and 
able place for that purpose, and the said schoolhouse so furnished from time to time to 
maintain, repair and continue forwards in this present term of Easter in the five and 
twentieth year of her majesty's reign, order and decree in mariner and form following. 
First, that there be a Free Grammar School continued within the said town of Ponte- 
fract, and a godly virtuous, and learned Schoolmaster and usher to be chosen from time 
to time to teach and instruct the youth there, and that the same giammar school for 
the better memorial of her most gracious, virtuous and princely disposition for the care- 
fid bringing tip of youth in learning, piety and godly life shall be called by the name of 
the most excellent Princess Queen Elizabeth's Free School, in Pontefract, and that the 
said yearly stipend and pension amounting to the sum of 251. 7s. 2d. of lawful money of 
England shall hereafter during the continuance of the said grammar school be yearly 
allowed to the master and usher of the said school, and their successors there for 
the time being, in manner and form as hereafter by this present decree is set down and 
declared. An"d also that the right honourable sir Ralph Sadler, knight, now chancellor 
and all others which hereafter shall be chancellors of the said dutchy, shall from time 
to time nominate and appoint one sufficient meet and able man to be schoolmaster 
there during the pleasure of the queen's majesty, her iveirs and successors, who for his 
stipend and wages shall have 201. parcel of the 251. 7s. 2d. to be paid unto the said 
schoolmaster, by the hands of the particular receiver of the honour of Pontefract for 
the time being, at two usual terms in the year, that is to say, the feast of St. Michael the 
Archangel, and the annunciation of our blessed Virgin Mary, or within fifty days next 
after either of the said feasts, by even portions, and that the residue of the said sum of 
25Z. 7s. 2rf. to be paid in manner and form aforesaid to one meet and sufficient man to 
be usher there, to be from time to time elected and chosen by the mayor and brethren 
of the said town of Pontefract, with the advice and consent of the schoolmaster there 
for the time being, and that this order and decree shall be a sufficient Warrant and dis- 
charge as well to the said particular receiver of our said sovereign lady the queen's 
majesty, her heirs and successors of her and their possessions parcel of her highness's 
dutchy of Lancaster, in the said county of York, for the time being, both for the true 
payment yearly to the said schoolmaster of and in the said school in the said town of 



334 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Pontefract, and his and their successors for the time being schoolmaster of the said 
grammar school for the said sum of 201. during so longtime as he or they or any of 
them shall continue schoolmaster or schoolmasters of the said grammar school, and 
also to the usher there for the time being for the true payment yearly of the said sum of 
5/. 7s. 2d. during so long time as the said usher shall continue tliere, and also to the 
auditor of the possessions of the said dutchy in the north parts for the time to make 
unto the said receiver, due and reasonable allowance yearly, of and for the payment of 
the said sums or yearly pensions accordingly.' 

' Provided always that if at any time hereafter it shall be thought good to her ma- 
jesty, her heirs and successors, to determine after to withdraw or diminish this her 
majesty's most gracious gift, or that the said Mayor or brethren shall be negligent or 
remiss in the well repairing or maintenance of the said schoolhouse, or in the direct 
furnishing the same as is before premised and appointed, that then it shall and may be 
lawful for the chancellor and council of the dutchj' for the time being, either to see the 
same redressed and reformed or else to call in and make frustrate this present order and 
decree any thing herein contained or specified to the contrarj^ notwithstanding. We 
have given and specified by these presents the form of the aforesaid decree and order at 
the request of the aforesaid Boniface Savage and other inhabitants of Pontefract. In 
Witness of which we have made these our'letters patent. Given at our palace at West- 
minster under the seal of our dutchy of Lancaster, the last day of April, in the twenty- 
fifth year of our reign.' 

From this period the school continued to flourish, or otherwise, 
according to the talents and industry, or inattention and neglect of the 
various masters appointed. The above grant or charter took from the 
mayor and comburgesses the right of appointing the schoolmaster, and 
such right remained with the chancellor of the dutchy. The school- 
master was only to be properly qualified for his office ; nor was he in 
the least bound or restricted to any particular branches of instruction. 

In the lapse of a century the school again fell into decay, and for 
some years no schoolmaster applied for the appointment. The inhabi- 
tants, desirous to restore this foundation, and to render it permanently 
useful, again petitioned the dutchy court, and engaged to rebuild the 
school and to purchase or erect a house for the residence of the school- 
master. The petition of the inhabitants was graciously received, and 
in the thirty-second year of the reign of George III. the school was 
refounded ; and a charter was granted containing rules and regulations 
for its better government in future. 



CHARTER FOR THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 

GEORGE THE THIRD, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, 
King, Defender of the Faith, and so forth ; and to all to whom these our letters shall 

come greeting Whereas, it hath been represented unto us that the Free Grammar 

Schootin our town of Pontefract, in our county of York, hath of late been going rapidly 
to decay, and that particularly for several years past, there hath been no mast'er of the 
said Free Grammar School appointed by us, to whom, in right of our dutchy of Lancas- 
ter, the patronage of our said school of right belonas ; nor hath any proper or fit person 
for several years past, appeared to solicit the appointment of that office. And, whereas 
the mayor, aldermen and burgesses, of our said to^vn of Pontefract, and divers inhabi- 
tants of the said town, have humblj^ represented the several matters aforesaid, to us, for 
our consideration and assistance therein, and have expressed themselves ready and wil- 
ling, by, and at the expense of the inhabitants of our said town of Pontefract, to rebuild 
the said Free Grammar School, together with a convenient residence for the master 
thereof, to be appointed by us and our successors, in right of our said dutchy of Lancas- 
ter, in the same manner as heretofore hath been done ; and they have also humbly re- 
quested us, for the better carrying into execution the severa'l purposes aforesaid, to 
refound the said Free Grammar 'School, and to make and enact, or cause to be made 
and enacted, by some proper and fit person or persons, by tis appointed therunto, some 
constitutions, rules, statutes and ordinances, for the regulation of the conduct of the 
masters and scholars of such Free Grammar School; and for electing, limiting and 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 335 

defining the number of Scholars to be educated upon the said foundation ; and for the 
introduction and permanent regulation of such other matters as may lend to the advan- 
tage of the said school, as to our royal wisdom shall seem fit. Now, Know Ye, that we 
being willing and desirous to promote the welfare of our said town of [-"ontefract and 
our township of Tanshelf, in the county of York, and to re-establish the said school, in 
such manner as may hereafter encourage and promote the education of yo\ith of the 
description hereinafter mentioned, within our town of Poutefract and township of Tan- 
shelf ; of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, will and grant, for our- 
selves, our heirs and successors, that the said Free Grammar School, situate and being 
within the said town of Pontefract, in the said county of York, shall for ever hereafter 
be called the King's School ; and shall be deemed and taken to be a Free Grammar 
School of our own royal foundation, for the teaching and educating seventeen boys, all 
of whom (except the boy to be elected, nominated, and appointed from the charity 
school in the town of Pontefract, as hereinafter is mentioned) at the time of being 
elected and appointed to be of the said foundation, shall be children of resident inhabi- 
tants, legally settled within the township of Pontefract, or the said township cf Tan - 
shelf, or of any deceased inhabitants or inhabitant, who were legally settled therein at 
the time of their or his decease ; and for the teaching and educating of such children, 
we further will, direct and appoint, that a fit and discreet person, as soon as conveni- 
ently may be, and for ever hereafter upon the happening of any vacancy within three 
calendar months from the happening of such vacancy, shall be nominated and appoint- 
ed in the name, or names of us, our heirs and successors, by the chancellor of our 
dutchy of Lancaster, by letters patent undei- the seal of our said dutclij'', to be master of 
the said Free Grammar School during the good-will and pleasure of us, our heirs and 
successors, in the manner heretofore accustomed ; which person, as a necessary qualifi- 
cation for such appointment, shall have taken upon him, previous to such appointment, 
the state and degree of a master of arts, or bachelor of laws, at one of our Universities 
of Oxford or Cambridge, and also shall have had ordination as a priest or deacon of the 
church of England; and who, at the time of such liis appointment, or at any time 
afterwards, during his continuing master of such Free Grammar School, shall not have 
or possess any benefice, witiiin fifteen miles of the town of Pontefract ; the lectureship 
of the said town, or preacher of the Sunday afternoon sermon, in the said town only 
excepted. And for the better regulation of the said foundation, we further direct, ap- 
point, and order, that the seventeen boys to be educated upon the said foundation, 
shall be elected, nominated, and appointed by the persons, and in the manner herein- 
after more particularly specified, (that is to say) 

Our royal will and pleasure is, that two of the said seventeen boys, of the descrip- 
tion aforesaid, shall be nominated and appointed by the chancellor of the dutchy of 
Lancaster, for the time being, in his own name in writing, under his own proper 
hand and seal, when and as often as such boys, or either of them, shall in any manner 
make a vacancy, by dying, or leaving, or being removed from the said foundation ; so 
however that such boys or boy, so nominated and appointed, at the time of such no- 
mination and appointment be made in the manner aforesaid, within three calendar 
months from the time such vacancy shall have been announced, and certified in writ- 
ing, signed by the master of the said foundation, and two of the curators, (hereinafter 
to'be appointed) or if there siiall be no master at the time of such vacancy, by two of 
the curators ; and in default of such appointment within the time aforesaid, then we 
will, direct and appoint, that such nomination and appointment shall, for that vacan- 
cy only, be made by the curators of the said foundation ; so however, that such appoint- 
ment and nomination be made in writing, and signed by the greater number of such 
curators for the time being, the mayor of the town for the time being, being one of such 
parties ; and that such appointment express, that the boy so nominated and appointed, 
is made in default of appointment, by our chancellor of our dutchy of Lancaster for the 
time being, within the time herein-before specified. But we hereby further declare 
our royal will and pleasure to be, that no informality in the manner or form of 
appointment, provided it be made within the time before specified, by our chancellor of 
the said dutchy of Lancaster, shall entitle the said curators to make such appoint- 
ment. 

And our royal will and pleasure further is, that fourteen boys, to be of the said 
foundation, who shall also be seven years of age at the least, at the time of appointment, 
shall be of the nomination, election and appointment of the curators of the said foun- 
dation, or the major part of the complete number of such^.urators, living at the time 
of such nomination, election, or appointment; such nomination, election, or appoint- 
ment, to be made pursuant to the constitutions, statutes, rules and oidinances, to be 
ordained by our attorney general of our dutchy of Lancaster for the time being, by 
writing under his hand and seal, or as they may hereafter be altered or added to, by the 
curators hereinafter mentioned ; so however that such alteration in the said constitu- 
tions, statutes, rules and ordinances, from tim>e to time, be approved b\ our said attor- 
ney general, of our said dutchy of Lancaster for the time being, under his hand and 
seal. And that such nomination, election, and appointment, be made within three 
calendar months, from the time of the vacancy happening, which is to be filled by 
such curators, and which ultimate time for making such election or appointment, we 
will and direct, shall not be subjectto any alteration by our said attorney general, or cura- 
tors, or either of them ; and in default of such nomination, election and appointment 
of the said last-mentioned fourteen boys, or any of them, within thr.ee calendar months 
from the time of any vacancies, or vacancy, happening ; our royal will and pleasure is, 
that our chancellor of our dutchy of Lancaster, for the time being, aftei- the lapse of the 
said three months, shall, in his own proper name, nominate and appoint, in writing 
uaider his hand and seal, to such vacancies, or vacancy, so as aforesaid suffered to lapse. 



336 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



But our royal will and pleasure is, that no informality in the mode of electing, nominate 
ing and appointing of the said fourteen boys or any of them, by the said curators, shall 
entitle our said chancellor of our dutchy of Lancaster, to nuniinate and appoint to such 
last-mentioned vacancies, or vacancy, or any of them j provided the mode of electing, 
nominating and appointing of sucli fourteen boys, or any of them, by the said curators, 
shall be substantially corresponding with, and pursuant to, the directions for such 
election, nominatioii and appointment, contained in this our royal charter, and in the 
constitutions, rules, statutes, and ordinances made by our attorney general of our 
dutchy of Lancaster, for the time being as aforesaid, or as altered by the said curators, 
and approved as aforesaid by our said attorney general. 

And our royal will and pleasure further is, that the one other boy to be of the age 
and description aforesaid, shall be elected, nominated and appointed out of, and from 
amongst, tlie boys maintained and educated at ilie Cliarity School within our said town 
of Pontefract, called or known by the name of the " Town School," by the trustees of 
the said Charity School, for the time being, or the major part of ihern, such election, 
nomination and appointment, to be marie or certitied in writing, and signed by the major 
partofsvich trustees; and such boy, so nominated, elected and appointed, shall be 
taught and educated in the same manner as the other boys upon the said foundation 
shall be ; (free from all fees or expenses whatsoever) for a term not exceeding five years 
or for such other time and no longer, within the space of seven years, as shall be speci- 
fied in the said certificate, or appointment of the said trustees, or major part of them, 
incase any time shall be therein specified; and at the end of such period of time so 
specfied, or at the end of five years, or within three calendar months after either of such 
times, the said trustees, or the major part of them, shall again in manner aforesaid 
nominate, elect and appoint, and ceitify the election, nomination and appointment of 
one other boy, out of, and from amongst, the boys of the said Town Charity School, to 
be taught and educated in manner, and during the time aforesaid. 

And our further royal will and pleasure is, and we do ordain, nominate and ap- 
point, the mayor, lecorder and aldermen of our said town of Pontefract, and the vicar 
of the vicarage within the parish of Pontefract, for ever hereafter, to be the curators or 
guardians of our said school ; and they shall have full power and authority to enforce 
and carry into execution, in such manner as to them shall seem fit, and consistent with 
the law of the realm, and this our charter : all such constitutions, statutes, rules 
and ordinances, as shall be made by our attorney general, of ovir dutchy of Lancaster 
for the time being, under his hand and seal, Jor the regulation of the said foundation 
and school, and ot the masters and scholars thereof ; and to regtilate and direct what 
books, or authors, shall be taught in the said Free Grammar School, and to appoint and 
distribute the times of teaching the same ; and what sums, or sum of money, shall be 
paid by the boys, to be educated upon the said foundation, to the master of the said 
Free Grammar School, and times and time of payment thereof, and their continuance 
upon the said foundation, and the time of (juiiting the same ; and the discipline of the 
said school, as well of correction as expulsion; and the imposing of such conditions or 
performances upon the master, consistent with the provisions aforesaid, as the said 
curators shall think for the benefit of the said Free Grammar School, and of all other 
mattersand things, touching the regulation and management of the said foundation in 
the first instance, and subject to the controul, reversal or alteration, by the visitor of 
the said foundation. And also from time to time to alter, amend, or new model such 
constitutions, statutes, rules and ordinances, with the approbation of our attorney 
general for the dutchy of Lancaster, for the time being, testified by his signing and 
sealing the same ; so however that such alterations in no manner impugn, contradict or 
be in any wise inconsistent with this our royal charter. 

And our royal will and pleasure is, and we do hereby direct and appoint, that our 
chancellor of our dutchy of Lancaster for the time being, shall be the visitor of the said 
Free Grammar School, herein-before erected ai^d founded ; and that if the said master 
and scholars or any of them, shall think themselves, or himself, aggrieved by the deter- 
mination or judgment of the said curators, upon any subject entrusted hereby to their 
judgment and reg-ulation, unassisted by the attorney general of our dutchy of Lancaster,, 
for the lime being; such master and scholais, so thinking themselves aggrieved, shall 
have a right of appealing to our said visitor, who shall have full power and authority to 
decide such appeal, and to make such order and regulations therein, as shall in his 
judgment be right and expedient ; and that he may exercise such powers and authori- 
ties as belonging to the office of visitor to do. In witness whereof, we have caused 
these our letters to be made patent.— Given at our palace of Westminster, under the 
seal of of our dutchy of Lancaster, the thirteenth day of February, in the thirty-second 
year of our reign, and in the year of our Lord, one thousand se\ en hundred and ninety^ 
two. 

JOHN ORD. VILLIERS. 

Inrolled in the Dutchy Court, the 25th of February^ 

F. RUSSELL, Register. 



Constitutions, Rules, Statutes and Ordinances; to be kept, maintained and observed, 
by the master and scholars of the Free Grammar School of the town of Pontefract, 
of the foundation of his most excellent Majesty King George the Third, duly made, 
and signed by Jo4n Ord, esq. his Majesty's attorney general of the dutchy ot Lan- 



History of pontefract. 337 

taster, pursuant to powers for that purpose to him given, in and by, his said majes- 
ty's letters patent, under the seal of the same duchy, bearing date the 13th day of 
February, in the thirty-second year of his reign, and in the year of our Lord, 1792. 
(That is to say) 

FinsT.— THAT the boys educated at the Free Grammar School in the town of 
Pontefract, under and by virtue of, his Majesty's said letters patent, shall be assembled 
and instructed, in the school-room erected for that purpose, and not elsewhere; at svich 
hours of the day as the master shall think fit, in the Latin and Greek Grammars; and 
at suitable periods, in the Latin and Greek Classics. The master of the said school shall 
have the appointment and regulation of the periods, at which such books and authors 
shall be taught and explained to the boys upon the said foundation ; and of the several 
hours of the day when such boys shall be assembled together and taught; and of the 
distribution, and order of reading or teaching such books, and of every regulation 
touching the teaching and instruction of such boys, subject to the controiil herein-after 
mentioned, (.that is to say.) That the master shall put down in writing, the scheme 
and plan of instiuction which he means and intends to pursue, and lay the same before 
the curators, who shall be summoned to take the same into consideration ; and the said 
curators, or the major part of them, of whom the vicar or recorder of Pontefract shall be 
one, shall have full power and authority to alter, vary or new model, such plan of instruc- 
tion and teaching, and every thing relating thereunto ; and when such plan of instruc- 
tion shall be approved by the said curators, or the major part of them (of whom the 
vicar or recorder of Pontefract shall be one) the same shall be fairly transcribed, and 
signed by the curators, allowing and approving the same ; and such plan of instruction 
shall thence-forward be continually used at the said Free Grammar School, by every 
succeeding master of such school, subject only to such alterations as may be made 
therein at any time, by the curators or guardians of such foundation, or the major part 
of them. 

Secondly, That the discipline of the said school, so far as relates to the censure, 
punishment or reward of the scholars shall be left wholly to the discretion of the mas- 
ter ; but in case of any cruelty, or immoderate punishment of any kind, upon the com- 
plaint of the parents or parent, guardians or guardian, or any other person who may 
have the management and superintendance, of the education of any boy upon the said 
foundation, not having any parent or guardian, to the mayor; or, in his absence, to 
the senior alderman of Pontefract, then resident in tlie said town : which said mayor, or 
in his absence, the said senior alderman, shall, within two days from the time of such 
complaint, summon a meeting of the curators or so many of them as shall be within a 
reasonable distance, to meet within twenty four hours, from the time of such summons, 
and shall hear the complaint in the presence of the said master, and of the parent, 
guardian, or person standing as aforesaid in the place of parent and guardian j who 
shall have notice in writing of the time and place of such meeting, and examii>e into 
the circumstances thereof, and shall determine and resolve, whether such grievance or 
complaint is well or ill founded generally, without stating any special circumstances 
whatsoever, and shall pj.it down, or cause to be put down in writing, and signed by the 
curators present, or the major part thereof, such their resolution, and preseive, or 
cause the same to be preserved, until a general meeting of the curators shall be called, 
or had ; and such resolution shall be laid before such general meeting; and at such 
general meeting, if the complaint shall be resolved to be well founded, the said master 
may be admonished and reproved by the mayor, in the name of the curators, and an 
entry made in a book, and preserved, of such admonition and reproof; and the cura- 
tors, if they shall think fit, shall represent the same to the visitor of the said school, for 
his discretion and judgment therein. 

Thirdly, That the master of the said Free Grammar School, shall have no power 
whatsoever, to expel any offending boy of the said foundation, from the said school, for 
any offence whatsoever ; but that upon any offence committed by any of the said boys, 
which shall in his discretion be worthy of punishment, or notice to that extent, the 
master shall with all convenient speed, apply to the mayor for the time being ; or in 
his absence to the senior alderman then resident in the said town, and request in 
writing, that he would summon a meeting of the curators, or so many of them as may 
live within a reasonable distance, within two days from the lime of such request, to 
consider of the offence of such boy; during which interval, and until such meeting 
shall be had, the said master shall be at liberty to suspend the education of such boy, 
and to prohibit his coming to be taught at the said school ; And at such meeting of 
the curators, so to be had, the said boy so offending and th^parent, guardian or person 
having the direction of the education of such boy, if he hath no parent or guardian, 
shall have notice in writing, signed by the mayor, or in his absence by the senior alder- 
man of the town, then resident, fo be present ; and such order shall be then and there 
made, for the admonition, punishment, suspension, or expulsion of such boy, as to the 
curators present, or the major part of them, (the vicar or recorder being one joining in 
the making of such order) shall seem just, and such admonition or punishment shall be 
carried into effect with all convenient dispatch," publicly in the school-room, in the pre^ 
sence of the other boys upon the same foundation, as far as the same may be consistent 
with the right of the visitor therein. 

Fourthly, There shall be paid by the parent, guardian or person taking upon him 
the expense of the education of the said foundation boys, (except the boy chosen out of 
tlie charity school in Pontefract, by the trustees of the said charity) to the master of 
the said Free Grammar School, one guinea a year, by equal quarterly, payments ; and for 
such of the said boys who shall learn writing and arithmetic, (except such one charity 
boy) one guinea more a year, by such quarterly payments, and it shall be at the optioa 

V V 



338 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



of the parent, guardian or other person taking upon him the expense of the education 
of such boy, to chuse whether he shall, or not, be instructed in writing and arithmetic. 
But the boy elected, nominated and appointed to the said foundation, from the charity- 
school in Pontefract, shall be taught writing and arithmetic, and nothing shall be paid 
for such his instruction, nor for any other instruction he shall receive upon the said 
foundation. 

Fifthly, That the master of the said free grammar school, shall he obliged to 
yeceive the sons of any of the inhabitants of the towns of Pontefract and Tanslielf, and 
instruct and educate them in the same manner, and in the same authors, and with the 
like discipline, and subject to the same rules, orders and restrictions, with those herein- 
before specified relating to the said seventeen boys, upon the said foundation, (execpt 
that of expulsion, which shall be at the discretion of the master, as to such boys as are 
not of the said foundation) upon being paid for the education of each boy, two guineas 
a year by equal quarterly payments ;. and in case any of such boys shall be taught writ- 
ing and arithmetic, which shall be at the option of the parent, guardian or person tak- 
ing upon him the expense of the education of such hoy, there shall be paid by quarterly 
pa5^ments» for such instruction in writing and arithmetic, one guinea a year and no 
more: Over and above the fees of salary paid to the master for the education of the 
said boys, he shall be paid for the Latin and Greek books necessary for their instruction, 
and for the paper, pens and ink used by them, a fair and reasonable price, to be ascer- 
tained and settled by the curators, or any three of them, the mayor and vicar being 
two, in case of anv difference or dispute aooul the price or charge for such articles made 
by the said master. 

Sixthly, No boy, whether of the said foundation, or not, and whether he be the 
son of an inhabitant of the town of Pontefract or Tanshelf, or not ; shall be taught by» 
or under the direction or permission of the master of s\ich school, writing and arithme- 
tic, or either of them, unless he is also instructed in the Latin and Greek languages, or 
one of them, in the same manner with the boys upon the said foundation. 

Seventhly, That the master of the said Free Grammar School, be permitted to 
take into his house boarders or lodgers, and instruct any other boys, although they 
may not be the sons of inhabitants of the towns of Pontefract and Tanshelf, iipon such 
terms as he shall think fit, so that sucli boys be educated at the same times, and in the 
same authors, and in the same school-room as the boys of the said foundation, and be 
mixed and intermingled with them, according to their ages of proficiency in learning ; 
birt the said piaster shall, on no account, be permitted to take any boys to educate pri- 
vately, and separate from the other boys, or any of them, nor shall any distinction be 
made between the said boys upon tlie said foundation, or any of them, and the 
other boys educated by the s'aid master, or any of them ; either by any badge or mark, 
or by the place of their sitting in such school Voom, or by any other mode of treatment 
whatever, except so far as relates to the expulsion, which, as to such boys who are not 
upon the said foundation, shall he left to the discretion of the said master. 

EiGHTLY, That an annual meeting shall be held by the said curators upon Tuesday 
next after Easter day, in the school-room ; at which meeting the master shall, without 
any notice or request for that purpose, lay before the curators present at such meeting 
the number of all the boys under education at his school, and the number of assistants, 
or ushers which he, then, and for six months before hath, had constantly in employ, 
and for the teaching of what branches or branch of education ; and in case the curators, 
or the major part of them, at such meeting shall resolve that the number of such assist- 
ants or ushers, is insufficient for the teaching and instructing of the said boys, then the 
said master shall, upon the order or request in writing, signed by the said curators, or 
the major part thereof, add so many assistants or ushers, within one calendar month 
from the date of such request, as such curators, or the major part thereof, shall direct 
and specifj' ; whose salaries or recompense shall be paid by the said master. 

Ninthly, That no boy shall be taken and educated at the said school, whether he 
be of the said foundation or not, unless he be of the age of seven years complete, at the 
time of his first coming to be educated ; nor shall any boy upon the said foundation, be 
permitted to stay at such school beyond the full age of sixteen years, unless it is intend- 
ed to send any of the boys to any of the universities of Oxford or Cambridge ; and in 
such case, upon the representation of such intention by the master, and upon the re- 
quest, in writing, of the parent, gxiardian or person taking upon him the expense of the 
education of such boy ; or in case of the said charity boy, upon the request of the 
trustees of the said charity school, in writing, signed by themselves, or tlie major part 
of them, the curators at their annual meeting ; such boys or boy, upon the special per- 
mission, in writing, signed by the said curators of such meeting, or the major part of 
them, may be continued at the said school to the full age of eighten, and no longer. 

Tekthly, That every election of the fourteen boys to be elected, nominated and 
appointed by the curators, to be upon the foundation of the said Free Grammar School, 
be made by ballot, whereof every curator shall have eight days previous notice, in writ- 
ing, exclusive of the day of giving such notice, and of "the day for such balloting ; and 
no one boy shall be elected without having, on the ballot, a majority of the curators 
present in his favour. 

Eleventhia', That on every vacancy amongst the fourteen boys of the said foun- 
dation, appointed by the said curator, a notification thereof in writing, within two days 
shall be given by the master of the said Free Grammar School, to the mayor, or in his 
absence to the senior alderman for tliC time being, resident in the said town of Ponte- 
fract ; and that the said mayor, or in his absence the said senior alderman, shall, within 
seven days after such notification given by tiie said master, summ.on a itieeting of the 
said curators, to be held at the school-house, to ballot for and elect another boy to 
supply such vacancy ; and that on every vacancy made by either of the two boys^ 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 339 

nominated and appointed by the visitor of the said foundation, the like notice in writ- 
ing, shall be given by the master to the mayor, or in his absence to the said senior 
alderman, then resident, shall give notice thereof in writing, to the visitor of the said 
foundation, who shall, by the said mayor or the said senior alderman, be respectfully 
requested in writing, to fill up such vacancy ; and upon the vacancy of the boy appoint- 
ed from the charity school of the said tov/n of Ponlefract, the like notice in writing, 
shall be given to the trustees of tb.e said charity school, for the time being, or such of 
xhem as shall be then in England, and capable of acting in the said trust, of such vacan- 
cy, and a request shall be made by the said master, in writing, to them, to fill up the 
vacancy, with all convenient expedition. 

T^VELFTHLY, That over and above the aforesaid fees and allowances to the said- 
master, for the instruction of the said boys, elected and chosen to be upon the said 
foundation, and of such other boys as shall be the sons of inhabitants living and resid- 
ing within the town of Pontefract and tnw^nship of Tanshelf ; there shall be paid to the 
master yearly, for each boy, (except for the said boy chosen from the charity school in 
Pontefract) after the Christmas Holidays, beginning after Christmas next, after each 
boy's coming to school, two shillings each for the expense of a fire in the said school- 
room, and the further sum of one shilling eacii, for repairing the school-room and 
school-house; and the master shall regularly account for, and deposit such monies in 
the hands of the town clerk of the town of Pontefract, and the same shall be kept by 
him, as a fund for repairing the said school-roum and school-house, and shall be ap- 
plied for those purposes in such manner as the curators, or the greater part of them, 
shall at any time direct: But the boy nominated by tlie trustees of the said charity 
school in Pontefract, shall pay no part of such expense of fire and repairs, or any other 
expense of education whatsoever. 

Thirteenthly, That all the children during their education in the said school, 
shall be instructed in the Protestant religion, according to the rites and ceremonies of 
the church of England, as by law established ; and every scholar, unless impeded by 
bodily indisposition, shall regularly, as well on Sundays as on such other of the days 
set apart by the church for public worship, as shall be specially directed by the master, 
resort to the parish church of Pontefract, or some other parish church in the neigh- 
bourhood thereof, to be allowed by the master ; and there abide orderly and soberly, 
-during the time of common prayer and preaching the sermon. 

F. RUSSEL, Register. 

FOTHEHGILL'S DONATION. 

The following is a copy of the memorial of Marmaduke Fothergill's 
conveyance to archbishop Dawes, of the Friar Wood, for the appoint- 
ment of a catechist, or lecturer, in Pontefract. 

' THIS INDENTURE made the third day of January in the third 
year of the reign of our sovereign lord George, by the grace of God, 
pver Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Mng, defender of the faith, 
&c. Anno Domini, 1716, between the Rev. Marmaduke Fothergill, of 
Pontefract, in the county of York, clerk, of the one part, and the most 
reverend father in God, sir William Dawes, baronet, lord archbishop of 
York, primate of England, and metropolitan, of the other part. Wit- 
nesseth that the^ said Marmaduke Fothergill of his own free will, pious 
and charitable inclination, and for the expressing and declaring his 
zeal and true affection for the Church of England, as it is now by the 
law established, and more particularly for tl>e support and mainte- 
nance of a catechist as is hereinafter mentioned ; and also in consi- 
deration of the sum of ten shillings of lawful money of Great Britain 
to him paid by the said archbishop, and for divers other good causes 
and considerations, him the said Marmaduke Fothergill thereunto 
moving, hath granted, bargained and sold, remised and released and 
confirmed, and by those presents doth grant, bargain and sell, remise 
and release and confirm unto the said sir W. Dawes, fin his actual 
possession now being by virtue of one indenture of bargain and sale 



340 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

to him thereof made bj'- the said Marmaduke Fothergill for one year 
bearing date the day next before the day of date of these psesents in 
consideration 5/. therein mentioned and by force of the statute made 
by transferring uses into possession^ and his successors in the see of 
York, all that close or parcel of pasture ground commonly called or 
known by the name of Friar Wood, lying and being in Pontefract 
aforesaid, formerly demised to Thomas and Sarah English deceased, 
and now or late in the tenure and occupation of Michael Watson or his 
assigns, and all those messuages, cottages or tenements, and all the 
several garths and orchards thereunto belonging, with their and every 
of their appurtenances, situate standing and being in the town or 
township and parish of Pontefract aforesaid, and one other garth, gar- 
den and piece or parcel of ground, lying and being in Pontefract 
aforesaid, and now or late in the tenure or occupation of John Lund or 
his assigns, together with all and other singular other lands, tenements 
and hereditaments whatsoever of him the said Marmaduke Fothergill 
in Pontefract aforesaid, or within the said parish of Pontefract, belong- 
ing to his said Friar Wood. And all the estate, right, title, interest, 
use, trust, property, reversion, claim, and demand whatsoever of him 
the said Marmaduke Fothergill, of, in, and to, the said houses, lands, 
tenements, and premises, and every or any part or parcel thereof, and 
the reversion or reversions, remainder or remainders, rents, issues and 
profits of the said premises and of every part or parcel thereof. To 
have and to hold the said messuages or tenements and cottages, garths, 
gardens, lands, tenements and premises above-mentioned, with all 
their rights, members, hereditaments and appurtenances whatsoever, 
to the said sir William Dawes and his successors in the see of York, to 
and for the only proper use, benefit, and behoof of him the said Mar- 
maduke Fothergill and Dorothy his now wife for and during their 
natural lives^ and the life of the longer liver of them the said Marma- 
duke Fothergill and the said Dorothy his wife, and from and immedi- 
ately after the deaths of them the said Marmaduke Fothergill and 
Dorothy, and the longer liver of them, then to and for the several uses, 
limitations and purposes and subject to the conditions and provisoes 
hereafter mentioned and expressed, limited and declared, of and con- 
cerning the same, (that is to say) to and for the use and behoof of his 
grace the lord archbishop of York, and his successors for ever, in trust 
that nevertheless all the rents, issues, and profits thereof may half- 
3-early be paid to, for, and towards the support and maintenance of a 
catechist in the chapel of St. Giles, within the town of Pontefract 
aforesaid, or in the parish church of Pontefract when re-builded, whom 
the said archbishop of York and his successors, from time to time shall 



i 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 341 

and may alway nominate after the deaths of the said Marmaduke 
Fothergill and Dorothy his said wife and the longer liver of them, 
only excepting and rescribing the first nomination of such catechist to 
the longer liver of them the said Marmaduke Fothergill and Dorothy 
his wife as shall be expressed in the last will or other writing of such 
longer liver, provided that the said archbishop and his successors shall 
and may impose such further obligation of duty as in his wisdom he 
shall think most reasonable for the said catechist to do and perform in 
the discharge of his office, and for neglect or omission of such duty by 
the said catechist the said archbishop and his successors shall and may 
from time to time proceed against such catechist or catechists by 
what ecclesiastical censure even to deprivation as he or they in their 
great wisdom shall think most expedient ; and if the said catechist's 
place shall become void, then the dean and chapter of the said 
cathedral and metropolitical church of St. Peter at York shall no- 
minate a fit person to be catechist as aforesaid, during the said 
see vacancy only shall and may impose the like obligation of duty as 
the said archbishop might or could have done, and for neglect^ or 
omission to observe and perform such duty by such catechist, shall 
and may proceed to like censure as the archbishop could or might 
have done, provided always and it is the true intent and meaning of 
the said Marmaduke Fothergill, that the said Friar Wood and the 
houses, garths, gardens, orchards, lands, tenements and premises and 
appurtenances shall from time to time be letten and disposed of 
without any time or foregift at the utmost, andjfull improved extended 
yearly rent and income by his grace the lord archbishop of York 
for the time being, or by the aforesaid dean and chapter during 
the vacancy of the said see, who in that case only are the trus- 
tees but entirely for the benefit and support of the said catechist 
and whereas the parish of Pontefract aforesaid is too great for the sole 
discharge of the vicar thereof, therefore the vicar of Pontefract shall 
not at any time be catechist, neither at the same time shall the cate- 
chist be vicar of Pontefract aforesaid, but the respective discharge of 
their duties shall always be distinct and executed by two different per- 
sons. And as this is done in puram et perpetuam Elj-mosinam as far as 
lies in him the said Marmaduke Fothergill, provided therefore that if 
the town or corporation or parish of Pontefract shall in the time of his 
life Cthe said Marmaduke Fothergill; at any time or times lay tax, assess- 
ment or impost, or sutfer to be laid or taxed, assessed or imposed, any 
parliamentary or other assessment or assessments, tax, or taxes, what- 
soever, upon the said Friar Wood, garths, gardens, orchards, lands, 
tenements and premises, or any other appurtenances whatsoever 



342 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

thereunto belonging, or upon the owners, proprietors, occupiers or 
tenants thereof, for or by reason of his her or their tenanting, or enjoy- 
ing the same, every or any part or parts thereof, or any of the appurten- 
ances thereto belonging, that then and in such case, immediately from 
and after such taxing or assessing, the said Friar- wood, houses, garths, 
gardens, orchards, lands, tenements, and premises, or any of them 
or their appurtenances, the gift or disposal of the rents, issues, and pro- 
fits thereof, and of every part thereof, for and towards the maintenance 
and the support of the said catechist, shall remain null and absolutely 
void to all intents, constructions and purposes, as if these presents 
had never been made, any thing herein contained to the contrary in 
any wise notwithstanding, and that then and from henceforth the said 
Mar. Fothergiil may sell the said Friar-wood, houses, garths, gardens, 
orchards, tenements, and premises, -^^ith their appurtenances, and con- 
vert the money arising by such sale thereof or any part thereof, to such 
use or uses as he shall think fit, and if he do not sell the same, then the 
said Friar Wood, houses, garths, gardens, orchards, lands, tenements, 
and premises, with all their appurtenances, shall be and remain in 
puram et perpetiiam Elemosynam in the respective archbishop of York 
and his successors for ever, as sole trustees, to employ and bestow the 
yearly income thereof to be employed as other fabric rent for and to- 
wards supporting the fabric of the said cathedral and metropolitical 
church of the see of York, and dean and chapter of the same, Cwhich 
God forbid) shall be dissolved, then during such dissolution and dissolu- 
tions the inheritance and fee simple of the said Friar Wood, houses, 
garths, gardens, orchards, lands, tenements, and premises, with all 
their rents, issues, profits, and appurtenances, shall for such respective 
time and times be and remain in Trinity Hall, in Cambridge, as trus- 
tees, that all the full yearly incomes thereof whatsoever, without any 
fine or foregift by them to be covenanted for or received, shall be applied 
by them by way of exhibition to one under graduate of their own col- 
lege of the sirname of Fothergiil, or next in kindred to the said Mar- 
maduke Fothergiil, first to be prefen-ed until he shall take his bachelor 
of laws' degree, which shall be as soon as ever by university statute he 
is capable of the same, and immediately after this degree taken, another 
like under-graduate shall be chosen into the same exhibition until in like 
manner he shall be capable to take the said degree of bachelor of laws, 
and so respectively, successively and for ever, until the said archbishop 
and dean and chapter of the said cathedral and metropolitical church of 
St. Peter in York, be restored, and the ai'chbishop of York for the time 
being as sole ti'ustee, shall then apply the full yearly incomes, rents, 
issues, and profits of the said Friar Wood, messuages, cottages, garths. 



HISTORY OP PONTEFRACT. 343 

gardens, orchards, lands, tenements, and premises with their appur- 
tenances as aforesaid, in manner and form above-mentioned either for 
a gospeller, or in, or towards the support of the fabric of the cathedral 
and metropolitical church of St. Peter in York. — And the said Marma- 
duke Fothergill, for himself and his heirs, doth hereby covenant, grant 
and agree to and with the said sir W, Dawes archbishishop of York and 
his successors, that he the said M. Fothergill at the time of sealing and 
executing of these presents, is and standeth lawfully seized of a good 
estate of inheritance of and in the said Friar Wood, and every part and 
parcel thereof, and of and in the houses, garths, gardens, orchards, 
lands, tenements, and premises thereto belonging with their and every 
of their appurtenances, and hath in himself good right and full power 
and lawful authority to convey assure and dispose of the same and every 
part thereof in trust as aforesaid, to and for the several uses and under 
the several provisions, conditions, restrictions, and limitations above- 
mentioned, for and notwithstanding any former or other act or thing 
whatsoever by him the said Marmaduke Fothergill or his assigns done 
or acted to the contrary. In witness whereof the parties to these pre- 
sents have interchangeably set their hands and seals the day and year 
first above written, also a lease for a year, bearing date the second day 
of January aforesaid, made between the said Marmaduke Fothergill of 
the one part, and the said sir W. Dawes archbishop of York, of the 
other part, of the said messuages or tenements, cottages, garths, gar- 
dens, orchards, lands, tenements, and premises, which said indenture 
of lease and release are witnessed by Arthur Gargrave, Nathaniel 
Staveley, Matthew Wilkinson, John Dickson, and Robert Staveley, 
gentlemen, all of Pontefract aforesaid. 

MAR. FOTHERGILL. 

Signed and sealed by the above-named Mar. Fothergill in the 
presence of us, 

M. Wilkinson. 
John Dickson. 
Nath. Stavely, Junr. 

The above memorial was registered at Wakefield, the 9th day of 
January 1716, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. 

Francis Lindley, Registrar. 
Examined by Wm. Lee, Alderman. 

Previously to Mr. Fothergill's grant of Friar Wood, a general 
meeting, held in the Mote-hall, on the 30th June, 17J2, during the 
mayoralty of Michael Waterhouse, esq. agreed and ordained, that 
should the said lands be granted by Marmaduke Fothergill for the sus- 
tenating an afternoon lecturer, the said lands should be immediately 



344 HISTORY Ot PONTEFRACT. 

freed from all taxes whatsoever, for ever, and the said town of Ponte-* 
fract, should bear all charges and taxes, which the said lands should be 
taxed with,* 

Dr. WATKINSON'S HOSPITAL, 

IN NORTH GATE. 

This hospital was erected in the year 1778 — 9, by the produce of 
the personal estate of the late Edward Watkinson, of Ackworth, M. D. 

In the year 1778, at a public meeting on the 9th of February, dur- 
ing the maj'oralty of Lawrence Fox, esq. it was agreed and ordered 
that a proper piece of ground should be immediately purchased, and a 
plan and estimate of the erection of the hospital was produced by Mr. 
Saltonstall, and on the 16th of the same month, apiece of ground 
belonging to Mr. S. Saltonstall was purchased. 

On the the 20th of October, 1779, Mr. Saltonstall possessed the 
following monies belonging to the hospital, viz : 1803/. 16s. 8d. 
also 220/., being certain savings since Mr. Watkinson's decease ; and 
two years' interest of monies amounting to 100/. more. In the same 
month, Mr. Saltonstall received 80/. for the purchase of the land on 
which the hospital was built, and the conveyance was made for the 
term of 999 years, at the yearly rent of one shilling, payable at 
Michaelmas yearly. The expense of the building of the hospital 
amounted to 484/. 12^. 

The residue of the estate, amounting to 1590/., was on the 11th of 
Febi'uary, 1780, invested in South Sea Annuities, and with it was pui'- 
chased stock to the amount of 2650/. for the use and benefit of the 
said hospital, and on the 28th of March, 1783, a further sum of 180/. 
was ordered to be laid out in the purchase of 274/. 6s. South Sea Stock, 
and at this period the whole of the stock purchased, yielded an annuity 
of 87/. 14^. 6d. 

The money is received by the mayor and recorder, through the 
medium of their agents in London ; and the trustees for the whole 
are, the rectors of Ackworth and Hemsvvorth, the vicar of Pontefract, 
and the mayor, recorder, and two senior aldermen of Pontefract. 

Co/11/ of Dr. fVatkinson's Will. 
This is the last will and testament of me, Edward Watkinson, of 
Ackworth, in the county of York, doctor in physic, made the seven- 

* Camden in his Mag. Brit. p. 380, says that Fothergill's greatest donation was to 
the town of Pontefract, where lie resided some years after marriage in a quiet and sub- 
missive manner to the times, until he was driven from thence to seek a sanctuary in 
Westminster, by a furious persecution raised against him by a hol-headed neighbouring 
justice of the peace. Before this happened he settled on the town of Pontefiaci SOL a 
year, arising from a fine piece of ground contiguous to it and clear of all taxes and 
deductions for the maintenance of a catechist in that parish. This donation he some 
time after confirmed, and the bequest took place on the death of his wi dow, who wa» 
liuried 22d July, VlVi^ 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 345 

teenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hun- 
dred and sixty-five, as follows :— First I order that all my just and 
reasonable debts and funeral expenses be paid and discharged. And I 
give and bequeath unto my dear wife all my household goods, furni- 
ture, plate, and linen, to be disposed of as she shall think proper ; and 
I also give unto her the sum of fifty pounds to be paid at my death j 
and also I give unto my worthy friend Mr. Samuel Saltonstall, alder- 
man of the borough of Pontefract, the sum of fifty pounds, out of my 
great regard for him and the trouble he will have in the execution of 
the trusts reposed in him by virtue of this my will. And I give to my 
niece Mrs. Ridsdale, and to my relatipn Mrs, Ann Wheatly, each a gold 
ring, in full of what they may respectively claim out of my estate ; 
and as to all the residue of my personal estate whatsoever, I give and 
bequeath the same \mto the said Samuel Saltonstall, his executors and 
administrators, upon the several trusts, and to the intents and purposes 
hereinafter specified, that is to say, upon trust and to the intent that 
the said Samuel Saltonstall, his executors and administrators shall and 
may with all convenient speed after my death, vest or continue the 
same at interest in some of the public funds of this kingdom, or lend 
the same at interest upon such mortgages of lands, tenements, or here- 
ditaments, as he or they shall tliink proper from time to time, during 
the life of my said dear wife, and pay the interest and produce, and divi- 
dends thereof to her my said wife, for her own use, benefit and support. 
And from and after her death, then upon trust to pay, so soon as convenient 
. may be, the said residue of my said personal estate and all the interest, 
produce, and dividends thereof, which shall not have been received by 
my said wife, to such person or persons as shall for the time being be 
the rector of Ackworth aforesaid, the rector of Hemsworth thereto ad- 
joining, the vicar of Pontefract aforesaid, the mayor, recorder, and two 
senior aldermen, of the boi'ough of Pontefract aforesaid, or to the major 
part of them, whose receipt for the same shall be an absolute and suf- 
ficient discharge to the said Samuel Saltonstall, his executors and 
administrators. And thereby will, and declare, that such residue of 
my said personal estate and the interest, produce, and dividends 
thereof and all other money which shall be so paid by the said Samuel 
Saltonstall, his executors and administrators, to the said rectors, vicar, 
mayor, recorder, and senior aldermen, or to the major part of them, 
are and for ever hereafter shall be upon the several trusts, and to the 
intents and purposes hereinafter specified and declared concerning the 
same, that is to say, upon trust and to the intent that they and the 
said Samuel Saltonstall and such person or persons for the time being 
as shall be the rectors of Ackworth and Hemsworth, the vicar of Pon- 

w w 



346 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

tefract, the maj'or, recorder and two senior aldermen of the said 
borough, or the major part of them, shall for ever thereafter place at 
interest or otherwise dispose of all the money they or any of them shall 
receive by virtue of this my will, and pay and apply the interest, pro- 
duce, and dividends thereof in manner following, that is to say, the 
sum of 1 0^. yearly to Mary Wood, my maid servant, during her life, 
by two equal half yearly payments, to commence from the death of 
my said wife. And also, the sum of 5^. yearly to Mary Wood, widow, 
the mother of my said servant, during the life of the said widow, by 
equal half yearly payments to commence from the death of my said 
wife. And in case the said Mary Wood, my servant, shall survive 
her mother, then after her death to pay the like sum of 51. yearly by 
half yearly payments to my said maid servant, during her life, over 
and above the said 10 ^ yearly so to be paid to her as aforesaid. And 
also to pay and apply the remainder of the said interest, produce, and 
dividends for the maintenance, support, comfortable living, and subsist- 
ance of nine poor unmarried persons of the protestant religion for evex*, 
to-be nominated, chosen, and elected, in such manner as is hereinafter 
directed, and according to the true intent and meaning of this 
my will. 

And I thereby will and direct that the said trustees or the major 
part of them shall with all convenient speed after the death of my said 
wife, upon a certain day and time to be appointed by any three of them, 
and of which the residue of the said trustees to have sufl&cient notice, 
m,eet in the moot-hall of Pontefract, and there nominate and choose two 
poor men and two poor women who shall then live in Ackworth afore- 
said ; and also two poor men and two poor women who shall live in 
Pontefract aforesaid, as eight of the nine persons who are to have the 
interest and produce of the said money, so to be paid to the said trustees. 
And also to nominate and choose one woman who shall live in either of 
the said townships to be the servant of the said eight poor persons, 
and to wait and attend upon them as such, and which said eight poor 
persons and the said seivant shall from time to time have the said 
interest, produce and di^'idends paid equally amongst them, shaie and 
share alike, at such times and in such manner, as the said trustees 
©r the major part of them shall from time to time think fit and proper. 
And I do hereby will and declare that no married person shall be capa- 
pable of being elected one of the said nine persons, and that if any of 
the said nine persons shall after he or she be elected do marry, 
that then such person- so marrying shall cease to have any share or 
part of the said interest, produce or dividends, and shall be displaced 
&©m having any benefit or advantage by virtue of this my will. And 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 347 

I hereby will and direct that the said trustees or the major part af 
them shall and may from time to time displace any person or 
persons who shall be so elected and nominated, or any other person or 
persons who shall succeed him, her or them in any interest or share 
in this charity for any immorality, misconduct or bad behaviour in any 
such person or persons, according to the judgment and discretion of 
the said trustees or the major part of them. And that whenever thei'e 
shall be any vacancy of the said eight persons by any of them, of dying 
or by being displaced or discharged, or by non-acceptance of the said 
charity, or refusal to comply with such conditions and terms relative 
thereto as shall be appointed by the said trustees or the major part of 
them. That then and so often they the said trustees or the major 
part of them shall with all convenient speed afterwards nominate and 
choose in the said moot-hall, other poor persons belonging to Ackworth 
or Pontefract aforesaid, to supply such vacancy and always to make up 
two poor men and two poor women belonging to Ackworth, and two 
poor men and two poor women belonging to the town of Pontefract, 
so that there may be for ever eight such poor persons and also their 
maid-servant equally entitled to the said interest, produce and divi- 
dends, and so that such eight poor persons shall always consist of two 
poor men and two poor women belonging to each of the said 
townships of Ackworth and Pontefract. And also I will and direct 
that when the said maid-servant or any other servant belonging 
to the said eight poor persons shall die or be displaced by the said 
trustees or the major part of them, that then and so often another 
proper person, living in Ackworth or Pontefract, shall with all conve- 
nient speed be nominated and appointed by the trustees or the major 
part of them in the stead and place of the said maid-servant so dying 
or displaced as aforesaid. And further I will and direct that in order 
to prevent any dispute or conti'oversies touching the aforesaid trusts 
or the execution thereof in any respect, proper books shall be prepared 
and kept for the making of entries touching the said trust estate and 
the revenue, income, and application thereof, and of all elections, no- 
minations, orders, directions, and removals, relative to the aforesaid 
trusts and the execution thereof. And that there shall be a duplicate 
of all the said books and of every thing to be therein contained. And 
that such books and duplicates shall be kept and preserved in such 
manner and places as the said trustees or the major part of them shall 
direct and appoint. And also that they the said trustees, or the major 
part of them, shall and may from time to time appoint a proper person 
to be their clerk, for the making of all their entrances and orders 
relative to the said trust, and for the keeping of all accounts concern- 



348 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

ing the said trust estate, and shall and may allow such clerk yearly for 
his trouble any sum of money not exceeding five pounds, to be paid out 
of the said interest, produce and dividends. And also I will and direct 
that the said trustees or the major part of them shall for ever hereafter 
have a discretionary power as to the best method and manner of per- 
petuating and performing the aforesaid trusts and all other matters 
and things relating thereto. And that they shall and may deduct and 
retain out of any money they receive by virtue of this my will all costs 
charges and expenses which they shall sustain, pay or be put to, in 
execution of any of the trusts aforesaid, or in the defence thereof, or 
otherwise relating thereto. And if any of the money which shall 
come to their or any of their hands, or to the hands only of the said 
Samuel SaltonstaU, in virtue of this my will, shall happen to be lost by 
fire, robbery, or other accident, or by lending or placing the same 
at interest, or by vesting the same in any of the public funds, that 
then the said trustees or any of them, or the said Samuel SaltonstaU, 
shall not be liable or subject to make good such loss. And lastly, I 
constitute and appoint the said Samuel SaltonstaU executor of this my 
will, hereby revoking all other wills by me made. And I direct that 
he shall dedu:-t and detain out of the money he shall receive as execu- 
tor of this my will, all charges and expenses he shall be put to in 
respect thereof, on any account and whatever. In witness, &c. &c. 
Signed, EDWARD WATKINSON. 

TALBOT'S CHARITY. 

George Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury, by his will, dated 24th. June, 
1590, in the 32nd year of queen Elizabeth's reign, did appoint that the 
sum of two hundred pounds, should yearly be employed for ever, for 
the benefit of the poorest artificers of the town of Pontefract, in York- 
shire, for the increase of trades, and occupations there, and thus to be 
distributed : — the mayor of the said town, and his brethren, or the 
greatest number of them with the mayor, shall meet upon Monday in 
Whits un-week, and by and with the assent of the earl of Shrewsbury, 
for the time being, pay and lend to evei-y poor artificer of the said town, 
so far as the said money will extend, the sum of five pounds for three 
years next following, every one of them giving good and sufficient se- 
curity for the re-payment thereof, at the time fixed.* 

* Dl'GDALE's Baron, 333. Wliether this bequest of the earl of Shrewsbury was ever 
paid to the mayor, and disposed of in the manner directed, is not known. There is no 
mention of it any of the books now belonging to the corporation ; and if it has ever been 
appropriated to its proper use, according to the will of the said earl, it is now lost either 
for want of sufficient security for its repayment, or has been applied to some other pur- 
pose. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 349 

SAYLE'S DOLE. 

On the 8th of June, 1673, Mr. Thomas Sayle, of Pontefract, by his 
last will and testament, amongst divers other legacies, left 100?. towards 
re-building and re-edifying St. Nicholas' Hospital, in Pontefract. Also 
100?. more to the poor of Pontefract, the use of which is, to be distri- 
buted amongst them, every Christmas for ever, by the mayor and vicar 
for the time being ; but in his will did not appoint trustees to receive 
the said 200?. from his executors, upon which account a commission for 
pious uses was held, and an inquisition taken the 10th April, 1674, at 
T. Headley's, in Snaith, and it was then decreed, that John Frank, esq. 
the mayor of Pontefract, Samuel Drake, D.D. and William Wilkinson, 
should stand and be trustees, and receive the said 200?., one part thereof 
to be laid out in re-building St. Nicholas' hospital, and the other to be 
kept up and remain a stock for ever, and the income and profits thereof 
to be distributed yearly, by the mayor and minister of the town, for the 
time being, and their successors for ever. 

Some years afterwards the trustees mis-applied the money to dif- 
ferent purposes than it was intended, and another commission for pious 
uses was held at Barnsley, on the 2nd June, 1682, and it was then agreed 
by their decreetal order, that the said 100?. should be paid in to Mr. 
Thomas Jackson, the mayor of Pontefract, Mr. Drake, then vicar, 
Richard Lyle, Hastings Sayle, and Thomas Sayle, who shortly after 
the receipt of the said 100?. should purchase so much land of inherit- 
ance of the clear yearly value of six pounds, to the uses of the said 
Richard Lyle, Hastings Sayle and Thomas Sayle, the mayor and vicar 
of Pontefract, during the natural lives of Richard Lyle, Hastings Sayle 
and Thomas Sayle, and after for the use of the said mayor and vicar 
for the time being, and their successors for ever, in trust, nevertheless 
to and for the charitable use aforesaid; and the said 100?. was after- 
wards received by the said Hastings Sayle, who purchased the close 
hereafter mentioned, and by his will and testament in writing, under 
his hand and seal duly executed, 23rd July, 1720, did give and devise 
unto the poor of Pontefract, one close in Purston Jagling, containing 
five acres, and called Lady Close, then in th§ possession of Robert Lor- 
ryman, in lieu and consideration of and satisfaction for the said 100?. 
so received by the testator, Hastings Sayle, so as aforesaid, given by the 
said other testator, Thomas Sayle, to the intent and purpose that the 
mayor and vicar of Pontefract, for the time being, and their successors 
for ever, might annually receive the rents and profits, which are about 
the value of 61. and distribute the same yearly for ever, at Christmas,4n 
and by the said commission for pious uses, as in the inquisition thereon, 
and decreetal order, may more fully appear, 



350 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Mr. William Kitchingham, by a writing under his hand and seal, 
dated 10th September, 1722, confirmed the title of the said close to the 
mayor, vicar, and their successors for ever, in trust for the uses above- 
mentioned ; and in consideration of ten shillings in hand, paid by the 
mayor and vicar, hath granted, bargedned, sold, and quit all claims 
thereof, for himself and his heirs for ever, for the said close, containing 
by estimation five acres, be the same more or less. 

GEORGE SKIPTON, esq. Mayor. 

The above close was surveyed by Mr. W. Whitaker, at the request 
of Grosvenor Perfect, esq. on the 25th day of July, 1799, and the 
estimated quantity was made by him to be 6a. 2r. 24p.* 

THE CORPORATION'S BEQUEST. 

The corporation of Pontefract purchased 6a. 2r. IOp. in the West- 
Field, of William York, esq. and Mrs. Heptinstall, for the use of the 
poor for ever They also purchased 2a. 1r. 12p. of land lying in Purs- 
ton Row, of William York, esq. and others, for the S£ime purpose. This 
latter portion of land is now occupied by Mr. S. Hirst, at the yearly 
rent of 41. 16s. Od. which is paid to the overseers of the poor. Mr. John 
Kitchingham was the first person who held the whole of these lands, 
during the mayoralty of Joshua Wilson esq. in the year 1746 ; he held 
them on a lease for 31 years, at 61. per annum, paying a foregift of 42/. 
The lease was dated 1st. September, 1746. 

The trustees of the above two donations are the mayor, aldennen, 
and burgesses, and the rents were formerly disti'ibuted by the mayor 
and three senior aldennen. The estimated quantity of these lands, 
appears by the tithe book, to be 8a. 3r. 22p. 

Mr. JOHN ACASTER'S BEQUEST. 

Mr. John A caster, by his last will and testament, gave three bush- 
els of wheat to be paid annually, out of the rents and profits of his 
house and garden in Micklegate, adjoining to the house of Mr. W. 
Hepworth on the east, to be distributed every Christmas, by the over- 
seers of the poor, for ever, to as many poor widows in Micklegate, 
Pontefract, as they shall think most needful. 

ANN HIRST'S DONATION. 
Be it remembered, that on the second day of April, one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-one, Mrs. Ann Hirst, of the city of York, 
spinster, gave fifty pounds in trust, that the mayor, recorder, and 
vicar of Pontefract, for the time being, shall lend the same from time 
to time, in sums of twenty-five pounds each, to such two inhabitants as 

* This deed, the copy of the will of Thomas Sayle, and decree of the 2nd of June, 
1682, are deposited in the town's box. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



351 



tliey shall think the most proper objects, for seven years without in- 
terest, on finding two sufficient bondsmen for the payment thereof; 
and in case one or both the bondsmen should die, the tradesmen to 
whom the money has been lent, are to find other bondsmen, within 
one month, or to pay in the money to the trustees. Ann Hirst was a 
native of this place, and made the above donation as a testimony of 
her respect, prompted by a wish to encourage honest industry. The 
deed is dated in the yeai* 1781, and is deposited in the church, 

LEONARD HEALEAGH'S BEQUEST. 

Mr. Leonard Healeagh left by his will, ICOO, A.D. twenty shillings 
per ann. to the poor of Pontefract, out of a house in Neat Market, 
vested by commission of pious uses in 1682, in the vicar, and distribu- 
ted every year on Good Friday. 

JOHN EASTWOOD'S BEQUEST. 

Mr. John Eastwood left by will, A.D. 1628, forty shillings per ann, 
to the poor of Pontefract, charged on a close in Skinner-lane, and dis- 
tributed every Shrove Tuesday, by John Horncastle, esq. whose house 
and garden, in Ropergate, are now made chargeable. 

ROBERT MOORE'S BEQUEST. 
Mr. Robert Moore left by his will, dated in the year 1662, to the 
poor of Pontefract, twenty shillings per annum, charged on land in 
Bennet Ings, now Mr. Taylor's, which is distributed by the overseers 
of the poor, one half on the first of May and the other on the first of 
November. The vicar and overseers of the poor are trustees. 

To the poor of Pontefract are also left the rents of a garden in 
Bondgate, which is mentioned in the tithe book. 

WILLIAM OATES' DONATION. 

Mr. William Oates left by will, to the poor of the town of Pontefract, 
forty shillings per annum, charged on a close in Tanshelf, called Clay 
Dike Close, and distributed every Good Friday, by the vicar. 

RICHARD THOMPSON'S DONATION. 
Richard Thompson, esq. of this place, by deed, dated 13th Deer., 
1823, gave to the mayor and recorder of Pontefract, and their succes- 
sors, the sum of one hundred pounds, in trust by them from time to 
time lent out, in sums of fifty pounds each, upon security, to two arti- 
zans of the town of Pontefract, for the term of seven years, without 
interest. The said Richard Thompson, also, by another deed of the 
same date, gave to Henry Taylor, John Perfect, and Christopher Mann 
Torre, esqrs. and their successors, to be appointed as therein mentioned, 
the sum of fifty pounds to be invested upon security of the interest 



352 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

thereof, applied to the use of the Dispensary in this tov/n, and in case 
of failure thereof, then to he laM out in the purchase of hread, to he 
distributed amongst the poor of Pontefract and Tanshelf, in shares to 
each towhship, but subject to be again resumed for a Dispensary, in 
case of such an institution being established. 



Within the town are the prevailing denominations of professing 
Christians, viz: Catholics, Dissenters, Wesleyan Methodists, and a 
Society of Friends, called Quakers. 

The place of worship erected by the Catholics, stands on a piece 
of ground, called in old deeds, Hallywalls,* and is a neat edifice with 
a well finished interior. 

The Wesleyan Methodists gained by degrees a small society, and 
in the year 1789, laid the foundation stone of their meeting-house. It 
was completed and opened by an appropriate discom-se delivered by Mr. 
Mather, on the 4th April, 1790. A short time elapsed and the Rev. John 
Wesley delivered a discourse within its walls, to a large and crowded 
audience. They have now diverged in various directions, and com- 
mand an extensive circuit J and three of the regular preachers reside 
here, under the command of the supreme legislative body, the con- 
ference. At the close of the year 1824, a very large and handsome 
new meeting house was built at the bottom of Micklegate. 

Although the Quakers began to spread abroad in 1655, through 
the powerful ministry of Fox, Penn, Barclay, and many others, yet we 
have no mention of their having a meeting house here until the year 
1685, when the plot of ground on which the present building stands in 
Southgate, was granted by Thomas English, of this place, grocer, to 
John Seaton, of Blyth, Nottinghamshire, Henry Jackson, of Tottess, in 
Wooldale, Richard Morton, of Woodand Hill, yeomen, Robert Clark- 
son, of Pontefract, grocer, Henry Calf, of Pontefract, maltster, and 
their heirs and assigns for ever, in trust to erect a meeting-house upon 
and for a burial place for the use of the members. 

The Protestant Non-conformist Dissente.is have a neat and well 
finished place of worship, which was commenced in the year 1 795, and 
completed during the following year. The money was collected by 
Hans Busk, esq. who contributed very largely towards it himself. R. P. 
Milnes, M. P. his executor, paid in the money after his demise, which 

* The Saxons held lands of the church, on the condition of keeping the holy walls 
i. e. the church in repair, and we find in Domesday Book, there was a church in Tan- 
shelf, and this place bordering on the north of Tanshelf, it is very probable that this 
land was held by such a tenure. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



353 



defrayed the expenditure of the ground and building. Previous to its 
erection Mr. Joseph Farret, an eminent divine, who had laboured a 
many years in the church of St. Giles, seceded from the established 
church, and with christians of the same denomination, met for the 
purpose of worshipping God, in Tanshelf Court, the mansion of a Mr. 
Ward, his kind friend. Mr. Farret died the year following in the 64th 
year of his age. The little society he had formed remained firm in 
principles under the Rev. J. Noble, their succeeding minister. He 
continued to labour amongst them during the persecuting spirit of the 
times,* for sixteen years, and died February 11th, 1679, aged 68. 
His successors were the Reverends J. Heywood, Stamford, Lapidge, 
Waterhouse, Kiplin, and the Rev. Coppock came next in succession. 
He found a very respectable congregation, but having embraced and 
defended the Socinian sentiments for thirty- six years, they were 
greatly diminished, and in 1782, only two or three families attended 
his ministry. On his decease, a number of persons embracing evan- 
gelical sentiments, formed a society, repaired the meeting house, 
which had fallen into decay, and invited the Rev. W. Tap, a teacher of 
similar sentiments to their own.^ He continued to discharge his duties 
until the year 1791. His successors were the Rev. B. Boothroyd, D.D. 
and the Rev. James Rawson, who now delivers his discourses to a con- 
gregation, numerous and respectable. Mary Reynolds, cousin to 
Patience Ward, esq. by her will dated April 17, 1721, gave 20Z. to be 
laid out in land, the rents and profits of which were assigned for ever to 
the dissenting minister in Tanshelf, and in case of there being no dis- 
senting minister in Tanshelf or Pontefract, the said rents to go to the 
poor of the two places, at the discretion of Patience Ward and his heirs 
for ever. In compliance with which. Patience Ward, esq. purchased a 
small close called Carlton Gate Close, which was surrendered to him 
in Tanshelf Court, for the uses specified. On the back of the surren- 
der are a list of dissenters who collected amongst themselves above 
10^. more, to complete the purchase, the sum bequeathed by Mrs. 
Reynolds being insufficient, 

THE NEWHALL. - 
This mansion, now totally unroofed, stands on the north-east 
corner of the fortress of Pontefract, at the foot of a hill on the road to- 
wards Ferrybridge. It is of a square form, adorned at each angle with 
turrets, and its style of architecture appears to be about the reign of 
Henry VIII ; although Camden in his Britannia, vol. iii. p. 286, states 

* During the time from the restoration of Charles II. to the revolution, when the 
dissenters were so cruelly persecuted, the Castle Chain House was used for a prison, 
into which many were incarcerated. 

X X 



354 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT, 

it to have been built durina^ the reign of Elizabeth, and to have been 
sometime the residence of Edward Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury. 

Leland says, that it was formerly a manor house belonging to the 
Pierrepoint family ; and notes, that the estates of Robert Pierre- 
point, ancestor of the earls of Kingston, included all the land contigu- 
ous to this place, as well as the lands near the village of Mexburgh, 
and the manors of Northaneston and Southaneston. 

In Evelyn's Memoirs ii. 225, in the diary of his journey to Pon- 
tefract, it is also stated to be the residence of a branch of the family 
of Pierrepoints : thus — ' 17 August, 1654. — Passed thro' Pontefract, the 
castle famous for many sieges, both of late and ancient times, and 
the death of that unhappy king murdered in it, (Richard 11.) was now 
demolishing by the rebells ; it stands on a mount and makes a goodly 
shew at a distance. The Queene has an house here, and there are 
many faire seats neere it, especialy Mr. Pierrepoint's, built at the foot 
of an hill out of the castle mines.' 

On entering the court, is an old gateway, over which is rudely 
engraven in stone, a coat of ai-ms, having for its supporters, two Tal- 
bots ; and immediately on the opposite side of this gateway, is the 
principal entrance, over which is also the figure of a Talbot, and the 
date 1591. None of the grants of Edward VI. to lord George Talbot, 
mention this mansion, although it is very probable to have been the 
residence of a branch of the Talbot family. It is stated, that the 
last branch of this family was a lady, who bequeathed the land 
hei'e to archbishop Dawes, whose only daughter married Edwin, 
earl of Harewood, and thus it became the property of this noble 
family. 

The rooms of this hall were very lofty and spacious : in the upper 
story one of them was ninety feet in length. The roof was covered 
with lead, and from the top a rich and picturesque country was per- 
ceived. It was occupied by different tenants as a farm-house, until within 
a short period, when the lead being taken off, its timbers were exposed 
to the weather, and consequently became the prey of the iron-grasp 
of time. Within its precincts a neat farm-house has lately been erected 
by Mr. John Brice. 

A traveller on visiting this mansion, in the year 1806, thus 
describes his entrance into it : — * The doors being open, I made my 
way in, not without that portion of tremor usual on such occasions ; 
which silence and the look of these deserted places inspire. As I pro- 
ceeded from chamber to chamber, these unpleasant accompaniments 
rather increased, until the last I heard a noise. Here that struggle 



HISTORY OF rONTEFRACT. ?55 

with reason took place, which all understand, and but few can satisfac- 
torily explain ; therefore I quickly regained the open air, and that 
composure necessary in these cases.' 

On the road near unto St. Thomas Hill, and betwixt this mansion 
house and or Stump Cross, is a deep ravine, cut through the 
solid rock, forming a part of the road, which has acquired the name of 
* Nevison's Leap,* from the following singular tale : — * Nevison a 
noted highwayman of the last century, having committed a robbery in 
the neighbourhood of Pontefract, and being closely pressed by his 
pursuers, in order to make his escape desperately leapt across the 
road, where the rock is cut through at the greatest width, and thus 
eluded for awhile, the grasp of his pursuers/ 



THE MARKET CROSS. 

The present market cross was erected in the year 1 73-1, on the site 
of the ancient cross of St. Oswald, by the lady of Solomon Dupier,* a 
a gentleman who resided here a short time, as appears by the inscrip- 
tion on one end of the cross.— - 

'Erected by Mrs. Elizabeth Dupier, relict of Solomon 
Dupier, gentleman, in a cheerful, and generous com- 
pliance with his benevolent intention, 1734. ' 

The cross is composed of a handsome dome, supported upon pillars of 
the doric order, and had on its first erection a flat roof surrounded by 
a stone ballustrade. It was newly beautified in the year 1671,t and on 
the decay of the roof, the style was altered to the present one, during 
the months of August and September, in the year 1763, the alteration 
costing the inhabitants the sum of 461. 3s. lOd. 

Gough reprobates the removal of the ancient cross and says, * as if 
Pontefract was to shew no evidence of its splendor, St. Oswald's cross 
gave place within these thirty years to an unmeaning market-house/ 
The old cross of St Oswald, commonly called Osgood-cross, gave the 
denomination to the hundred or wapontake, and was a sanctuary at 
which none could be arrested. It had a freed way to it, as well as an 
unpaved portion of ground, of about two yards in breadth surrounding 
it ; vs^ithin which boundary, as tradition hath it, the corporate body of 
the town could not seize any person for debt, &c. 

The erection of the conduit near the cross, was commenced in the 
year 1571, and finished in the following year, during the reign of queen 

* Solomon Dupier was one of the garrison of Gibraltar at the time of the siege by 
sir George Rooke ; after which period he came over into England with a captain Lay, 
who had been with sir George Rggliie, and resided here in the enjoymeat of a pension,, 

t Gem's Historv ii, 41, 



356 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

Mary.* Being in a ruinous state about the year 1810 and the supplies 
of water being insufficient for the public use ; a clause was inserted in 
the act of parliamentj 50, Geo. III. sess. 1810, wherein the pump, its 
pipes, and all other appurtenances belonging to it were vested in the 
power of the commissioners of the streets, who where bound to see it 
kept in proper repair. 



THE STUMP CROSS. 

About a mile to the north of Pontefract, on a hill near the New- 
hall, and adjoining upon the road from Ferrybridge, is the base of an 
ancient cross, ornamented with three arches on each side, measuring 
in length about two feet five inches, and in breadth one foot four inches. 
On its top is a square cavity about two feet in length and one foot in 
breadth. The shaft of this cross, which was about five feet in height, 
was ornamented with sculpture, and Bro^vne, in ancient sculpture and 
painting, observes, * that the sculptures which were on the shaft be- 
speak it Roman.' In the accompanying plate of this cross, three sides 
of the shaft are given, from Cough's edition of Camden's Britannia 
iii. 263, plate IV. and as it was not noticed by him from whence the 
representation is taken, it may be probable that they were copied from 
some drawings in the possession of the antiquarian society. 

At what period this cross was erected or for what particular pur- 
pose is uncertain. The Romans made their prowess manifest * by their 
monuments and inscriptions, fastened into the walls of churches, and 
by many columns engraven with Roman work, &c.t' And it was also 
customary with them to erect on the highways, pillars of stone, whereon 
they inscribed distances of their cities, &c. ; whence the phrase ad 
tertium, quartum &c. lapidum, to the third or fourth stone, signifying so 
many miles.J They also had their Terminus, the god who presided 
over boundaries and land marks, and in honor of this god they held 
their feast, terminalia. The christians also had their crosses to mark 
the boundaries of townships and parishes; and, therefore, though the 
shaft might be Roman, and erected by that people, as a memento of 
some victorious achievement ; — it might, after the introduction of 
Christianity, be chosen to form part of the cross, on account of its 
antiquity, and the elegance of its workmanship. The stump cross 
answers as a boundary mark, between the townships of Ferry-Fryston 
and Pontefract. 

* Camden's Britannia, 286. Gent's Hist. Comp. Rom. ii. appx. 29. 
t Speed's Great Britain, b. i, p. 377, c. ^. 
t Mag. Brit. Oxfordshire, ix. 212. 




§ 



^,H- 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 85/ 

THE TOWN-HALL. 

This is an elegant modern structure, and is situated at the eastern 
end of the Market-place. On entering the Market-place from the west, 
this building catches the eye and arrests the attention. The lower 
part is in the antique style, and gives to it the appearance of great 
strength. In this part are two rooms for prisoners. The decorative 
pillasters, which grace the front, are of the Doric order, with the 
cornice of the Ionic. 

It was erected during the reign of Charles II. A.D. 1656, on the 
site of the Aulse Placitorum, or old Mote-Hall, at the joint expense of 
the corporation and the county. 

The quarter sessions for the hundred or wapontake of Osgold- 
cross, was held here, which generally continued for four or five days. 
Here the cloth searchers were examined and appointed, and the trea- 
surer's accounts of the West-Riding audited and settled. 

THE COURT HOUSE. 

This noble structure, supported on elegant pillars of the Ionic 
order, was erected at the expense of the county, upon the site of the 
mansion of the late colonel Ramsden, at the top of the Corn Market, 
it is built of handsome free stone, and its rooms are very spacious. 

THE THEATRE. 

Desirous of adding to the town, the amusements of the age, as in 
other places, a number of gentlemen built by subscription the thea- 
tre, which is situated in Gillygate. It is built of free stone, and is a 
small but neat structure. The York company of comedians under the 
management of the late Tate Wilkinson, esq. used to visit this place 
regularly j but at this period the Louth company perform here. 

THE MONUMENT. 

In commemoration of the ever-memorable battle of Waterloo, a 
party of gentlemen erected a monument onj^he south side of the town ' 
in the grounds of Edward Trueman, esq. It was erected in the month 
of September, 1818, as appears from the inscription on the south side 
of the pedestal, which is formed of neat free stone and stands on a 
raised mound of earth. Its base is composed of three steps, which run 
completely round it, whilst on the lower step are iron palisades placed 
as a safeguard to it. The pilaster, built of brick work, rises to a con- 
siderable height, and is surmounted by a gilt urn. . The inscription is 
cut in large characters and is as follow :~ 



358 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED 

September, . 1818, in commemoration of the 

splendid and decisive 

VICTORY OF WATERLOO ; 

atchieved by British valour, under 

the immortal 

2i23^cUiugtott, 

the 18th June, 1815. 



THE PARK. 

Tlie following is a sui*vey of Pontefract park, under the dutchy seal, 
dated 19th. June, in the 30th year of the reign of queen Elizabeth. 

* To the first article, the said park is distant from Pontefiact castle 
half a quarter of a mile, but how long the same hath been a park we 
cannot tell, but so far we have heard said, it was some time called 
Pontefract moor.* — To the second article, the same route within the 
whole circuit of the pales, seven hundred acres, whereof we think there 
is none may be employed for meadow, one hundred acres for arable 
ground, and all the rest for pasture. — To the thud article, we say that 
every of the one hundred acres of arable land and every acre of pas- 
ture is worth by year twelve-pence. — To the fourth article, there is in 
tire pales about the said park, and within the premises of the same, one 
thousand three hundred and seventy timber trees, whereof we think 
four hundred of the best is worth ten shillings a piece, other four hun- 
dred of the next sort worth six shillings and eightpence a piece, and 
the rest at five shillings a piece. In fuel trees one thousand seven 
hundred and sixty trees, whereof five hundred of the best are worth to 
be sold at six shillings and eightpence a piece, of the second sort other 
five hundred at five shillings a piece, and the rest at three shillings and 
fourpence a piece. Also four hundred saplings worth sixteen pence a 
piece, one hundred ashes at sixteen pence a piece. — To the fifth arti- 
cle, there are no manner of mines to our knowledge. — To the sixth 
article, there is growing within the precincts of the said park, certain 
underwoods, as thorn, maples, hazles, alders, and other bnishment, 
but what acres the same be or what age the same be of, we know not, 
but we say that they ai'e worth to be sold at sixty pounds.— To the 
seventh ai'ticle, there was in the said parkin anno prime of the queen's 

* It should seem from this, that the extensive tract of land called the park, prior 
to the conquest, was fenny and waste ; and most probably depastured by the cattle of 
tlie burgesses. When the'Lascies became the proprietors of the burgh,, this district i^as 
then $nrronnded by a foss and paled. 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 369 

majesty's reig:n, three hundred deer, and at this present five hundred 
four score and fifteen, viewed by William Mallet, John Tindall, and 
Robert Hippon, keepers there, and others.— To the eighth article, we 
say that George lord Talbot iKith the said park by indenture, under the 
seal of the dutchy of Lancaster, paying therefore by year four pounds 
three shillings and fourpence, and further saith, that the town and in- 
habitants of Pontefract and Tanshelf hath by custom common in tbe 
said park, with their horses and kine, yeai'ly, time out of man's mind, 
from the feast of St. Ellen, called the invention of the cross, unto the 
feast of St. Michael, and so hath at this present, paying yearly there- 
fore to the herbager or farmer of the said park, for every cow twelve 
pence, and for every horse or mare two shillings for the whole jist, and 
for a cow if she lie in the park nightly sixteen-pence, for a circle for 
brackens twopence, for a swine in pannage time fourpence 5 and fur- 
ther saith, the king's and queen's majesties' tenants, or copyholders of 
Carlton, Hard wick, and Tanshelf, have common in a close called Carl- 
ton close in the said park, with their draughts, oxen or cattle, yearly 
from the said feast of St. Ellen unto the feast of St. Michael, paying 
yearly, therefore, for every beast fourpence, for the which custom and 
common the said tenants are bound by the tenure of their lands to carry 
the queen's timber and other to their highness's castle or mills : having 
therefore for every carriage according to the custom paid by the receiver 
there, which said close has been so used and occupied until four years 
last past, and since thence the pales taken there by the keepers and 
the ground laid into the new close adjoining to the same, whereby the 
the same tenants are not able to serve the queen's majesty as they have 
done in times past ; and further saith, that the farmer of the said 
manor of Hardwick hath had time out of man's mind common in the 
said park yearly, in winter and in summer, for sixty beasts and ten hor- 
ses or mares, also in pannage-time, swine without number, for which 
custom the late priory of St. Oswald, before the dissolution of the house, 
hath paid to the keepers of the said park six quarters of wheat and to 
the palace four quarters, and since thence the dissolution thereof, the 
receiver there hath paid yearly in respect to the said wheat three 
pounds six shillings and eightpence until rfow of late ; and also says 
that the farmers of the capital messuage of Houghton, called Houghton 
Hall, had time out of man's naind, and also since thence the first year 
of her majesty's reign, in the said park common for sixteen beasts and 
four horses from the feast of St. Ellen unto Michaelmas yearly, and 
also hath had one key of custom delivered unto him by the keeper of 
the said park at the said feast of St. Ellen unto Michaelmas, of one 
gate, called Houghton Carr Gate, for the driving out of their cattle. 



360 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

paying yearly unto the said keeper at the delivery of the said key^ 
fourpence, and in pannage-time, swine without number ; and further 
saith, that the queen's majesty is charged with certain fees payable 
forth of the said park, ttiat is to say, to the keeper for his fee, one 
pound six and eightpence for carriage of pale and rail; and making the 
pales, thirteen shillings and fourpence. — To the ninth article, there is 
builded in the said park three lodges or bouses, whereof two of them 
are in good reparation and the third partly in decay, but who is charged 
with the reparation thereof we know not ; also, there is a barn builded 
in the said park to lye hay in that is gotten for the deer, the reparation 
whereof is at the queen's charges. — To the tenth article we cannot de- 
pose. — To the eleventh article, there is in the said park one close called 
the New Close, another called Vicar's Close, the most part thereof of 
the pales are in good reparation and also of the said park. Also, there 
is another close in the said park called the Carr, granted by indenture 
to William Mallet, esq. forth of the exchequer and before belonging to 
the late dissolved monastery of St. John, in Pontefract ; and further 
saith, that there is fifteen acres of meadow in Allerton Ings, belonging 
to the said park for the deer, gotten yearly at the queen's charges. 
Every acre worth by the year three shillings and fourpence. — To the 
twelfth article we can say nothing. — To the thirteenth article, the same 
is a princely park and meet before another to be presei*ved. 

* And we have given and specified the above said form or records by 
these presents. In witness whereof we have caused these our letters 
to be made patent. Given at our palace at Westminster under the seal 
of our dutchy of Lancaster aforesaid, the nineteenth day of June, 1.588, 
in the thirtieth year of our reign.' 

It does not appear, notwithstanding the recommendation of the 
commissioners, that much attention was paid to the park after this 
period. When the wood was cut down and the deer sold, the author 
has not been able to ascertain. It is however most propable, that this 
was done during the civil war. For after this time, as the castle was 
destroyed, the park was in a great measure neglected, and a considera- 
ble part left to the operations of nature, unaided by the hand of man. 

The three houses erected and occupied by the keeper and 
his servants : were called the Upper and Lower Park Houses, and 
the lodge. It is probable it was at the Upper Park-House a scene of 
cruelty and plunder was exhibited, not often equalled in the annals of 
Newgate. The Reverend Leonard Scurr, who had been ejected by 
the act of uniformity from Beeston church, where he had assisted the 
Rev. Mr. Cud worth, lived in the above-mentioned house, with his 
mother and maid servant. He enjoyed a considerable estate in the 



HiSTOPwY OF PONTEFRACT. 



361 



neighbourhood, and it is probable, that the respectability of the 
family led his neighbours to perinit him to reside there, though con- 
trary to the five-mile act. Whether he became the object of resent- 
ment on account of his non-conf<jrmity, or whetlter he fell a victim to a 
lawless banditti, who merely wished to secure his property, it is im- 
possible to determine. Whatever might be the motives of the actors 
in this tragedy, they entered the house, in the Right of the 22d of 
January, 1680, murdered Mr. Scurr, his mother, and the maidservant, 
then plundered the house, and on departing set it on fire.* 

The Upper Park Housef being so near to the town of Pontefract, 
this horrid transaction could not be long unknown. An active search 
was made after the murderers ; and circumstances occurring which 
led to suspect a party at Holbeck, near Leeds, they fled to Ireland. 
They were however pursued, and two of them taken ; and being tried 
at the next assizes, were found guilty. One was executed and hung in 
chains on Holbeck Green; J the other was reprieved, in hopes that he 
would make a further discovery, but he resisted every attempt to ob- 
tain any information from him. 

* Sec Palmer's Non. Mem. vol. iii. p. 424. 

"Mr. SciuT, of Sidney Col. Camb. Born in Pontefract. He had a good estate In 
this neighbourhood. Some time after being silenced here (where he assisted Mr. Cud- 
worth) he and his mother, with a maid-servant, lived retired at a house in the park, 
where thieves broke in, robbed and murdered them, set the house on fire, Jan. 22, 1680, 
and then fled into Ireland, whither they were pursued. Two of them were taken and 
condemned ; one was hanged in chains," on Holbeck Green ; the other was reprieved, 
in hopes of a further discovery, which he could never be brought to make. A narrative 
of tliis tragedy was printed. It was said that Mr. Scurr, though a good preacher, was a 
man of bad character, and a scandal to his profession." 

t A few years ago an atrocious murder was committed in the forenoon of the day, 
at a newly erected farm-house in the park occupied by Mr. Denison. A servant lad re- 
turning home with his cart, near noon, and his foot being hurt by a nail, which came 
through the heel of his shoe, went into the house to find a hammer to knock it down. 
In searching for the hammer, he discovered blood in diiferent places, and at last turn- 
ing his head to the cellar door, descried the body of Mrs. Denison in the cellar, which 
was then half full of water. He drew her out of the water, and laid her near the fire, 
and then ran and called his master, who was plowing in a close at some little distance, 
with a servant man. On the alarm being given, that Mrs. D. was killed, Mr. D. hasten- 
ed to his habitation. Mr. T. Oxley, svirgeon, was sent for, and considerably within an 
hour from the body being found he examined it, hut could not discover any signs of 
life, nor so much as the least animal heat remaining It appeared that the murder had 
been perpetrated by a stroke with the crow end of a hammer, by which a deep wound 
was made in the forehead, and the body afterwards thrown into the cellar. 

The coroner's inquest was taken, and every circumstance minutely examined, in 
order to fix the guilt of this foul murder on its real author. Nothing however occurred 
decisive. The servant lad, who found the body, was suspected, taken up and tried ; but 
the evidence of the surgeon saved his life. He considered it impossible for the body to 
become cold in so short a space of time as had elapsed frcm the lad being seen to enter 
the house, and his examination of the corpse. It was his opinion that the murder had 
been committed much earlier. 

Suspicion arose, from other circumstances, that the perpetrator of this nefarious 
deed, must have been either a branch of the family, or some one intimate with it. 
There was a mastiff in the house, which would suffer no stranger to enter, unless checked 
by some one acquainted with him ; and as Mrs. Denison was the only person left in the 
house, it is not probable, that this dog should permit a stranger to attack her witliout 
making a strenuous defence. As the dog was uninjured, and in tlie house when the 
body was found, it is natural to infer, that some person, who had an equal command 
over the dog with Mrs. D., was the murderer. 

t A narrative of this tragedy was printed. The editor regrets that he has not been 
able to meet with it, as it might have thrown some light on the transaction. On re- 
peatedly perusing Palmer, the editor doubts whether this transaction took place in Pon- 
tefract Park, or in some place called the park near Beeston. 

Y Y 



362 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

After the revolution, the park was leased off to the MonctoR 
family, with a reservation of the rights of the inhabitants of the 
borough of Pontefract and township of Tanshelf, to their usual gates 
and strays. It wholly remained in the possession of this family till an 
act of parliament was obtained in the year 1780, for dividing and im- 
proving this extensive district of land. By this act three hundred and 
twenty-five acres were allotted to the inhabitants of Pontefract and 
Tanshelf, in lieu of all their rights ; and provision was made for its 
cultivation and management. In the preamble to the act, the reasons 
for passing it, and the agreement entered into by the parties interested, 
are mentioned : then follows the enacting clauses, in which trustees 
are appointed for that portion of the park allotted to the inhabitants of 
Pontefract and Tanshelf. 

In case any person is convicted of putting into the park scabbed, 
infectious, or other uncommonable cattle, or such as are not hona fide 
his, or her own, such person becomes liable to a penalty of five pounds. 

The trustees have a power lo grant short leases for four or seven 
years, of certain parcels of the park, for the improvement thereof, 
such parcels not exceeding one hundred acres. They have also a 
right to make brick ; but are wholly restrained from digging mines, 
or getting coal. 

The whole, of the above-mentioned parcels of land have been 
cleared, and after producing large crops of grain, converted into excel- 
lent pasture ground. 

That part of the park which continues to belong to his majesty, 
as parcel of his dutchy of Lancaster, was by the above mentioned act, 
made into a new district, to be called Pontefract Park District, for 
which constables, overseers, &c. are appointed, and assessments made 
and levied as in other townships. This has been enclosed and formed 
into several good farms. 

The entire park consisted of one thousand three hundred and sixty- 
one acres three roods and thirty seven perches, and is divided and 

held as under. 

A. R. p. 

Allotment belonging to the inhabitants resiant of Ponte- 1 09- n a 

fract and Tanshelf, J '^-'' " " 

Right Honourable Earl of Gallway, on lease, 871 39 

Mr. Appletree, do G2 2 36 

Mr. Thistlethaite, do 32 20 

J . Leatham, esq. . . . . . . do. « . , 33 2 

Roads and drains, 17 1 22 

Amount of the whole, 1361 3 37 

His Majesty's portion, , ,♦..!. 1036 3 37 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. ^ 363 

THE CHARITY or NATIONAL SCHOOL. 

it is not certain when, or by whom, this school was first erected. 
There is no mention of such a schok)! prior to the year 1709. William 
earl of Strafford, by will, dated the 9th of September, 1695, out of his 
favourable and charitable disposition to this town, gave and devised 
unto the mayor and aldermen the sum of two hundred pounds, towards 
the repairs of the great church, if the trustees, named in his will, should 
be well assured on payment thereof that the said church would be 
repaired, and constantly used as other churches were for the perform- 
ance of divine service. 

In the year 1709, there being no likelihood of this church .being 
repaired, the Honourable Thomas Wentworth, (father of the lord 
Malton,) the residuary legatee of the said earl of Strafford, in regard 
to the memory and pious intentions of the said earl, and wishing that 
the said two hundred pounds might be employed for charitable pur- 
poses, for the benefit of the poor of Pontefract, instead of appljang it 
to his own use, as he certainly might have done, paid this sum to the 
corporation, on their giving a proper indemnity, to the intent that the 
interest thereof might be annually employed in and about some good 
charitable undertaking within the said town, either in setting up a 
school or a workhouse. 

In consequence thereof the corporation, by deed dated the 25th 
August, 1709, after reciting the above particulars, did grant the three 
closes, called Town's Closes, to the said Honble. Thomas Wentworth, 
and his legal representatives, as an indemnity for the payment of the 
said sum ; and it was by the same deed declared that the mayor, recor- 
der, vicar, and the two senior aldermen of Pontefract, for the time 
being, should be trustees to manage, expend, and lay out the said 
interest monies for the benefit of such Charity School or Workhouse. 

The said trustees were also impowered to lay out the said two 
hundred pounds in the purchase of land, and apply the rents to the 
purposes aforesaid, and in case the said church should be rebuilt, the 
lands so purchased were declared liable to the payment of the said two 
hundred pounds. 

This bequest appears to have laid the foundation of the Charity 
School. It cannot be doubted but the persons mentioned laid out the 
money in land, for which land they of course became trustees. The 
following is a list of the donations, inclusive of the above, which have 
been made to this school; and whatever lands were purchased with 
such donations they must have been invested in the same trust.* 

* Though there can be no doubt that the persons mentioned in the deed of release 
are the legal trustees of the lands belonging to this charity, it is singular that they are 



364 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 



Honourable Thomas Wentworth, August 25, 1700, 

ralieiuius Ward, esquire, February 7, 1711, 

?ilr. William Stables, alderman, 

Mr. Joseph Loda,e, September 3, 1712, 

Mrs. Elizabeth Adams, December 12, 1713, 

Madam Savil, wife of J. Savil, esquire, junr. 

Mrs. Sarah Sharpass, widow, August, 1710, 

Patientius Ward, esquire, to put out apprentices, August 2, 1717, 

Patientius Ward, esquire, for the same purpose, August 2, 1719, 

Mrs. Catharine Favil, 1722, 

Mrs. Ann "V'ickers, by will, May 21, 1722, 

Mr. Richard Shiilitoe, late of Sharlston, September 21, 172-4, 

Patientius Ward, esquire, October 1, 1725, 

Mrs. Sarah Caley, Is ovember 26, 1725, .. 

Mr. John Stavely, November 26, 1728, 

From an unknown person, December 18, 1728, .. 

Mrs. Dorothy Frank, by will, May 29, 1728, 

Mrs. Ann Lowther, April 18, 1729, 

Mr. Wilson, July 2, 1729, 

John Lowther, esquire, by will October 16, 1731, 

Mrs. Elizabeth Perfect, January 5, 1731,.. 

Mr. Solomon Dupeir, June 4, 1731, 

Mrs. Mary Kellam, December 28, 1732, .. 

From an unknown person. May 27, 1736, 

Mr. Scholey, educated as a Charity Boy, 



I. 


£. 


rl. 


200 








2 








7 


3 





2 








2 


10 





2 


3 





20 








2 


2 





2 


2 


u 


20 








3 








10 








10 








10 





t) 


10 


10 







1 





80 








5 








21 








20 








3 


3 





100 








5 








20 








100 








7. COS 


14 


~0 



This Charity School, besides the donations ipade to it, has received 
considerable support from annual subscribers j and every annual sub- 
scriber of one guinea, has acted in conjunction with the proper trustees, 
in the regulation and management of the said school. The conduct of 
the trustees, in relinquishing their exclusive right of management, de- 
sen'es commendation. They have acted on the obvious principle, that 
when men voluntarily give their money for any charitable purpose, 
they have a right to see that it be properly applied. By this conduct 
annual subscriptions are encouraged, as the subscribers have full liberty 
to recommend the children of the poor to the benefit of this charity. 

The inhabitants of the town, desirous of obtaining a suitable resi- 
dence for the master, of this school, generously exerted themselves to 
accomplish so benevolent a design. The corporation gave 250?., and 
other handsome contributions being added, a spacious house, situated in 
Micklegate, was purchased, and in the year 1779, the present spacious 
school-room was erected on the ground behind it. The management 
of this institution is invested in seven trustees who have the power of 
allowing the schoolmaster to enjoy the premises according to their 
discretion. 

When the King's Grammar School was refounded, the trustees of 
this charity appropriated one hundred and fifty pounds from its funds 
towards the erection of the said Gi-ammar School. 

The number of boys and girls admitted on this foundation is now 
regulated by the state of its finances. 

not in possession of any one deed of conveyance. Is it not probable, that on the death 
■of recorder Frank, when the office which he had kept here was given up, and all tlie 
writings in hispossession were conveyed toCampsall; such deeds were carried there also? 



A. 


R. 


p. 


I. 


s. 


d. 


3 





36 


12 


12 





2 





16 


7 


10 







1 


25 


5 








3 





11 


16 








4 


1 


13 


17 








1 


1 


32 


6 








1 


1 


18 


9 











1 


22 


1 


1 





4 








3 








5 


3 


31 


11 


11 





2 








3 








4 


3 


6 


5 














7 

















16 


8 











8 


4 



HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 365 

The following is an account of lands, &c. now belonging to this 
Charity School, exclusive of the annual subscriptions. 

LANDS, &C. BENT. 

A close in Purston Row, 

Ditto ditto. 

Ditto and piece in Bennet Ings, .. 

Ditto at Bagliill, 

Ditto in Darrington Lane, 

Ditto in Upper Taythes, 

A Garden in Bailey-gate, 

Ditto northward, 

Tliree-eiglits of a close at Darrington, let for 81. per annum, 

A close at Darrington, 

Ditto under Went-hill, 

Ditto at Cutsylie, 

Lady Betty Hastings, annually .... 

An annual payment out of land at Ferrybridge, 

Ditto by Mr. Popplewell, out of land at Spittle-Gap, 

.34 iO Z.104 19 



The Will of Mrs. Dorothy Frank, dated 29th March, 1728, which 
relates to the devise of the sum of 100^. to the Charity School in Pon- 
tefract. 

* I give and bequeath unto my said brother Robert Frank, John 
Coates, doctor of physic, Nicholas Torre, esq. the sum of 100^. to be 
paid by the executors hereinafter mentioned, within twelve months after 
my decease, and my aforesaid gift, devise, and bequeath to them is upon 
this special trust and confidence that they shall with as much conveni- 
ent speed as may be, lay out and dispose of the said 100/. in a purchase 
of land, and settle the same to them and their heirs for the use, intents 
and purposes, as in and by my said last will and testament is appointed 
and directed concerning the same, that is to say, that they the said 
Robert Frank, John Coates, and Nicholas Torre, and their heirs shall 
and may employ and dispose of the clear yearly rent and profits of the 
said lands, intended so to be purchased, as follows : viz. 30*. per ann. 
out of the said rents shall be yearly employed and applied for the bene- 
fit and advantage of the poor children of the charity school at Pontefract, 
and the rest and residue of the issues and profits that shall arise out of 
the said lands, my desire is that the same shall be employed and ap- 
plied yearly about the time of Christmas, amongst such aged and sick 
persons of the said town of Pontefract as the said Robert Frank, John 
Coates, Nicholas Torre, and their heirs, shall think fit, my will and 
mind is that 100/. so devised as aforesaid to the said Robert Frank, John 
Coates, Nicholas Torre, and their heirs, shall be by them placed out at 
interest upon good securities, and that they shall yearly from time to 
time, dispose and pay and apply the interest and proceeds thereof, 
unto such person and persons and to and for such use, interests, and 
purposes; and in such parts and proportions as is herein before 



366 HISTORY OF PONTEFRACT. 

directed, limited and appointed, concerning the rents and profits of the 
lands so intended to be purchased as aforesaid. 

Codicil of the said Mrs. Frank, dated 3d March, 1728. 

AND WHEREAS, 1 have given and bequeathed in and by my last 
will, unto my brother Robert Frank, esq. John Coates, doctor in phy- 
sick, since deceased, and Nicholas Torre, esq. the sum of 100/. to be 
laid out in lands and to be disposed of to certain uses therein mentioned, 
Now I do by this my codicil, nominate and appoint my said brother 
Robert Frank, Nicholas Torre, esq. and the Rev. John Drake, clerk, 
and their heirs, to be trustees of the uses and purposes in my said will 
mentioned. 



ADDENDA 



SALE OF MATERIALS OF THE CASTLE. 

A true account of the value of all the materials, belonging the Castle 
of Pontefract, sold : And of the money received and debts owing ; also, 
the charge of demolishing the same, the 5th of April, 1649. 

II. s. d, 
MPRIMIS, an agreement made with John Harrison, for 
demolishing the Round Tower, for which paid him. . . 80 10 

An agreement made the same time with Thomas 
Lake, and others, for pulling down the Barbacan Wall, 
for which paid 20 5 

Paid Thomas Thurstan for levelling the Earthern 
Mount, called Nevill's Mount, and the Barbacan Wall 
from the Great-stable to the Low Drawbridge, 10 

Paid Jasper Ellis, by an order from the committee 
of the 27th of April, for monies laid out about removing 
the ammunition from Pontefract Castle to York, and for 

carrying it up iu Clifford Tower, 4 4 

' 114 19 

Lancelot Lamb and others, for taking down the tim- 
ber from the Round-Tower, Queen's-Tower and King's 
Tower, and other buildings about the same, 35 

Paid John Harrison and others, for demolishing the 
two skreens from the Gate-house to the Round Tower, 
and from thence to the Treasurer Tower, 34 

Paid Thomas Taylor and others, for the timber taking 
down from the Chapel, Constable Tower, and all the rest 
of the buildings to the Gate House 35 2 6 

Paid Tattersall and others, for taking down the tim- 
ber from off the two Gate Houses, 2 00 

Paid Tattersall, John Smith and others, for taking 
down the timber of the Treasurer's Tower, Gascoygne's 
Tower, the Great Kitchen, and so to the Great Hall, . . 34 5 

Paid them more for the Great Hall timber, and the 

Gate House taking down, 12 5 

152 12 6 



Paid Simon Procter, for demolishing the King's and 
Queen's Tower, and all the buildings betwixt the 
same; the sura of ,. ,. , 104 5 6 



U ADDENDA. 

I. s. d. 
Paid Thomas Lake and others, for demolishing the 
two Out Gate Houses, and the Ski-een, by the Constable 
Tower, 15 6 S 

Paid Edward Wilson, for demolishing the Constable 
Tower, and all the other buildings from the King's Tower 
to the Gate House, as also the Treasurer Tower, Gas- 
coigne Tower, the Great Kitchen, and all the other build- 
ings from the Skreen unto the Great Hall, the sum of 201 

Paid Edward Handson, for pulling down the Skreen 
between the upper Gate House, and the Round Tower : 
also for the Guard House, 1 10 

Paid James Jolly for pulling oif the iron from oiF the 
the three Gates, the two Drawbridges, and the timber of 
the low Drawbridges taking up, 2 16 

Paid for filling up the Graft at the low Drawbridge, 
and pulling down part of the Skreen close by the Consta- 
ble Tower, . . . . I 7 4 

326 5 6 



Paid three labourers for removing timber out of the 
fall of a Tower, 3 

Paid for taking down the timber from Swillington 
Tower, 1 13 4 

Paid John Oxley, and Thomas Lee, for smelting of 
lead into pigs, 4 10 

Paid for filling up the Graft at the upper Drawbridge 
and the Chapel walls pulling down, 4 10 

Paid Simon Procter, for felling down Swillington 
Tower, 8 10 

Paid Simon Procter more, in regard we did conceive 
that he had a losing bargain upon former work done by 
him, 4 00 

Monies expended upon several messengers sending 
abroad into several parts of the country, to seek out ex- 
perienced workmen, for the speedy demolishing of the 
castle ; and also for monies expended at several contracts 
making : as also monies given to workmen for their en- 
couragement at the falls of several towers, with other 

incident charges, 20 

42 17 4 



Paid for baring of timber from under the fall of Con- 
stable tower, 2 14 

Paid for two paper books, and to the justice's clerks 
for drawing the orders betwixt the committee and trustees 10 

Given to a maimed workman that was to return to 
his own home at Malton, towards his charges, 6 

Given to Lancelot Lamb, for his care and good ser- 
vices in the work, 10 

Paid seven soldiers, by order from Captain Ward, for 
work done by them, 7 

Paid for 5 stone and 5 lb. of iron, for making crows 
for pulling off lead, , 14 8 



ADDENDA. lit 

I t. d. 
Paid Francis Bradley, for crows making and shovels 

shoeing, 4 4 

Paid several labourers for work done, as appears by a 

note in Mr. Long's hands, 3 11 5 

Paid John Smith, for work done by him, 2 10 

Paid six carpenters for loading timber that was secu- 
red from burning by the soldiers and surveying the rest 

of the timber, 1 

16 6 1 



Paid George Rennard, for taking crooks out of the 
walls, 10 

Paid Lake and Hanson for demolishing the Great 
Hall, and the Inner Gate House, 37 6 8 

Paid John Oxley and his three men for several days 
work, for taking the lead of the castle down, 5 

Paid for lime and workmanship, for the two draw- 
bridges walling up of either side, r .. 1 100 

Paid Richard Lyle, for the loan of his beam and 
weights for weighing of lead, r .. .. 34 

Paid for coals to several guards to secure the timber 
from burning, 18 

Paid several draughts for leading timber out of the 
castle garth, to secure it from the soldiers, .... . . 3 28 

Paid labourers for several bulwarks pulling down, 
about and near the castle, , 12 

Paid two councellors their fees for advice how to pro- 
ceed in suit, and in whose names, for materials sold and 

not paid for, , . . . . . . 1 

50 4 8 

Paid by Mr. Robert More, to several workmen and labourersTas^ppears 
by his note of particulars, as foUoweth : 

For the first week, , .. l 3 10 

For the second week, 5 15 6 

For the third week, 6 19 9 

For the fourth week, , 14 14 6 

For the fifth week, 9 ig lo 

For the sixth week, 5 2 

For the seventh week, 4 17 4 

For the eighth week, .. .. 17 16 

For the ninth week, 4 2 

For the tenth week, ,. .. 3 15 4 

73 19 .5 
Lead taken off Pontefract castle, and sold as falloweth t 

Sold to the churchwardens of Barnsley 20 cwt. at . . 10 2 6 

Sold unto Mr. Richard Wilcock, 20 cwt. at 10 2 6 

Sold unto Mr. Samuel Childe, of Leeds, forty fother 

of Lead, at IIZ. 5*. comes to 450 

Sold him more, 9 fother 12 cwt. 241b. at the same 
price, comes to ,. ,, 107 19 9 

zz 



IV 



ADDENDA. 



He rests indebted for wood, for smelting of lead .. 

Sold unto Mr. Winter, of Hull, 4 fother of lead, at . . 

Sold unto Mr. John Skurr, one web of lead, 21 stone 

!21b. at 

Sold unto Mr. Edward Rhodes, 84 fother of lead, 
14 cwt. 2 qrs. 51b. at 



z. 

2 


s. d. 
10 


45 






1 10 



940 



1567 



4 9 



Sold unto Grace Briggs, three webs of lead, &c. 
a cwt. 13 lb. at 

Sold unto Sir Thos. Wentworth, one fother of lead, 

Sold unto Lieut. Ward, 11 stone 5 lb. at 

Sold unto Bryan Fosteard, 30 stone of lead, 

Sold unto Lord Saville, 20 cwt. of lead, 

Sold unto Mr. John Saville, of Methley, 3 fother 131b. 

Sold unto a porter 18 stone 3 lb. at 

Sold unto Francis Branley, 21 stone of lead, at 

Is. 6d. &c 

qr. 17 lb. at 



5 





11 


5 





17 


2 


5 


10 


2 6 


33 


16 


1 


7 10 



I 11 6 



Sold unto Mr. Robert Moor, 1 1 cwt. 1 

5d. &c 

Sold unto Mr. John Clayton, 18 stone 41b. at 

Sold unto Edward Field, 43 stone 10 lb. at . . 



The total of all the lead sold, amounts to the sum of 
1640 Z. 165. 11 <f. whereof received in money, .. .. .. 1540 



5 


15 6 


1 


7 


2 


15 10 


76 


3 2 



7 2 



Monies owing for lead, to balance the accounts above written as 

follows : 

Sir Edward Rhodes, debtor for lead, 

Mr. Samuel Childe, of Leeds, rests indebted for lead. 
Further, Mr. Childe rests indebted for wood, for 
smelting his lead, 

The total of all the iron belonging' to the castle is 
79 cwt. 3 qrs. 27 lb. sold at 10s. per cwt. amounts to the 
sura of 40/. whereof received in money, 37 2 4 

Monies owing for iron to balance the account as 
aforesaid. Col. Overton, by an order from the Lord Gen- 
eral, for the public service for the drawbridges for Hull, 
had iron teams delivered him to the value of, in money, . . 2 17 8 



40 








57 


19 


9 


2 


10 





100 


9 


_9 



May the 7th, 1649 Money received for timber as follows : 



Col. Thomas Rookeby, 7 
Mr. Birkebecke, . . . . 1 3 
William Nicholson, . . 2 1 
William Jennings, . , 16 
Mr. Leonard Ward, ..23 
Robert Howson, , , , , 10 



Thomas Thwaytes, 
Richard Smith, . . 
William Farrowe, 
Grace Briggs, 
Philip Austwicke, 



William Hill;, 18 



ADDENDA. 



Thomas Tkyler, ., 
Edward Fielde, . . 
Richard Lyle, 
Robert Sutton, 
William Brame, . . 
Francis Bradley, . . 
Zechariah Stable,. . 
John Potter, . . . . 
Thomas Jackson and 

Robert Farrowe, 
William Wright, . . 
Thomas Jackson,. . 
Charles Tootle, . . 
John Killingbecke, 
Richard Turner, . . 



I. 
4 

22 
2 
3 

12 
1 
4 

10 



. 4 
. 1 
. 
. JO 
. 



s. d. 

10 

8 



10 



6 15 



6 9 



10 



18 



Thomas Boswell, . . 
Peter Cuthwait, . . 
John Wattson, 

Francis Lee, 2 

Robert Bawlderton, 
William Ward, . . 
Mary Rothwell, . . 
Thomas Fielde, . . 
For timber for the 

church, . . 
Timber for the windmill 
Mr. John Skurr, . . 
John Wildman, . . 

For the remainder of 
timber in Brame Garth 



/. s. 


d. 


. 2 





. -0 13 





. 9 10 





. 2 J2 





. 5 





. 12 





. 9 





13 


4 


20 





11, 2 





3 





. 2 8 





5 





201 7 






Monies received for glass, 



10 



Debts owing for timber, as follows : 



I. 
William Farrowe, . . I 
Col. Overton, by an or- 
der from the Lord 
General, for the pub- 
lic service of Hull for 

timber, 

George Wrigley by as- 
signment from John 

Potter, 3 

Thomas Farrowe,. . . . 3 
Thomas Farrowe and 
Thomas Jackson joint- 
ly together, 3 



8 6 



5 



Thomas Jackson,. . 
Richard Cattle, . . 
John Hodgshon, , . 
John Box, 
Thomas Eaden, . . 
Thomas Boswell, . . 
John Ambler, 
Mr. John Lambe, 
Bryan Fosteard, . . 
Richard Fosteard, 



I. s. d. 

4 1 6 

1 17 

2 8 8 
2 10 

1 10 9 

2 

3 6 8 
2 16 
1 10 
1 10 

42 4 2 



Monies received for lead, 1540 7 2 

Monies received for timber, 201 7 10 

Monies received for iron, 37 2 4 

Monies received for glass, 1 

1779 \7 4" 

The charge for demolishing, .... .'. 777 4 6 

Monies allotted unto the town, 1000 

The rest due to the common wealth, 2 12 10 

1779 17 4 

Debts owing for materials, which are due unto the common wealth -. 

For lead, 100 9 9 

For timber, , 42 4 2 

For iron, ..,*.. 2 17 8 

145 11 7 



VJl ' ADDENDA- 

OF TltlE LASCIES. 

Extracted from an ancient black lettered MSS. in the possession of ChajS. Winn, of 
Nostell Priory, Esq. 

qi%^(B)XZWi^ lacg fefuit cum OTillmo conquc^tore qui 
^2|pm!5» fuit po^^e^or ^ountfract qui gcnuit gli&mu* «t 
^^nrtcu. — ^IBcrtu^ oU\t ^me ijtxtXi, ^twntm ft* ciug ^uc= 
te^^it ti qui gniuit i^obtu.Sr ^IbreUam* ICobtug obijt ^c«tie 
tt ^cpultu0 apuD Uix^^t^W. ^Ibr^tia Uc^pongata fuit 3^o6= 
to j^clliS ©onstabnlar. @c5tx\ qui gcnuit ex ea %oijt^ teHiS, 
^jojc^ bcro genuit S^ogcsu. i)cn^. — Itogerug genuit SJojb^m 
comitcm tic lacg* ^oj^c^ gcnuit CFDtoatDu* ^ijtoarDu^ gcnuit 
iJ^cnricu. comitcm* J^enricu^ gcnuit ^Uciam wjcorem '^j&om? 
lanca^tr* 



ON PONTEFRACT CASTLE. 



Look round this vast and venerable place. 
Whose ruined pile still shines with awful grace. 

Yet noblj' great, 'midst all its faded charms ; 
See the wide waste of all-consuming age. 
The wreck of ruthless wars, and hostile rage. 

And all the dire eifects of more than civil wars. 

View savage time with cankering tooth devour 
The solid fabric of yon mouldering tower. 

Which now in undistinguished chaos lies; 
Where erst the noble Lascy's Norman line 
Planned the wide work, and formed the vast design. 

And bid with Gothic grace, the stately structure rise. 

When lo ! on high the vaulted domes suspend. 
On lofty columns the wide arches bend, 

And massive walls the vast domain inclose ; 
In vain the hostile warriors nervous art 
With missive tire directs the barbed dart, 

Or.with enormous strength the ponderous javelin throwi. 

For many an age the Lciscy's noble race, 

With arms, and arts, adorned the splendid place. 

As heroes triumphed, or as patriots shone ; 
Till with the great Plantagenet's fair bride, 
In nuptial dower these ancient honors glide. 

The seat of future kings, that graced the British throne. 

On yonder hill, as early annals tell 
The holy hero and the martyr fell. 

Which still great Lancaster thy memory bears. 
There 'midst the saints enrolled with rites divine. 
The pious pilgrim sought the sacred shrine. 

And bathed thy hallowed tomb, with sympathizing tears. 

With holy zeal, and blameless morals armed. 
With all the power of conscious virtue warmed, 

'Midst death's sad scenes, the pious patiiot smile* ; 
By thee proud Mortimer the hoary sage 
bleeds the sad victim of thy brutal rage 

Lost by thv lawless love, and all a woman's wiles. 



ADDENDA. Vll 



7Look there, Trhere erst, yon mouldering turret itood. 
Whose moss grown stones are tinged with royal blood; 

♦Midst civil broils the hapless Richard bled. 
There cruel Exton's vile assassin dart. 
With bloody treason pierced the monarch's heart. 

And fixed the tottering crown on haughty Henry's head. 

Here vaunting Bolingbroke, thy feeble foe. 
Felt in each whispering breeze the fatal blow. 

Or heard death's herald in each guilty stone- 
Short is the date of captive monarch's doom 
*Twixt the dark prison and the yawning tomb ; 

For bold ambition bears no rival to tlie throne. 

See yonder tower still blush with crimson stains 
That flowed in plenteous store from noble veins, 

Where Vaughan, and Grey, by Gloster's arts expired; 
Where Rivers fell, who with his latest breath 
These mornful mansions dignified in death. 

With love of letters warm'd, and dawning science fired. 

•Midst the wild flames, that civil discord spread. 
When by base arts the royal martyr bled. 

Still loyal Pomfret spurned the tyrants' hate. 
Last in these northern climes that scorned to pay, 
A servile homage to his lawless sway. 
And in inglorious ease survive the monarch* fate. 

Long haughty Lambert did thy veteran powers 
•With iron tempest shake the solid towers. 

And round the walls the missive murder send. 
In vain brave Morrice did thy martial train 
With loya.1 arms the hostile shocks sustain. 

And 'gainst rebellious sons these loyal domes defend. 

Hark ! the loud engines tear the trembling walls 
And from its base the massive fabric falls, 

And all at once these ancient honors fade. 
These lofty^towers, and all these royal spoils 
'Sink into silence, 'midst intestine broils 

la prostrate ruins lost, and dark oblivion laid. 

FRANCIS DRAKE, S. T. P. 
Lecturer of Pomfret, 1750. 



J. FOX, PRINTER, FONTEFRACT. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

IllHilil Hill llliiiiiiiHiiiiiii Hill 




illlilllllllSiililllllllllllKII 
005 372 208 8 




